Laparoscopically Harvested Omental Free Tissue Autograft to Bypass the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) in Human Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme (rGBM)

Summary

Participation Requirements

Description

Laparoscopically harvested omental free flaps are commonly used to fill surgical cavities after resection of head and neck cancers. The investigators hypothesize that a laparoscopically harvested omental free flap in our patients with resected recurrent GBM may be used as a readily available and acc...

Laparoscopically harvested omental free flaps are commonly used to fill surgical cavities after resection of head and neck cancers. The investigators hypothesize that a laparoscopically harvested omental free flap in our patients with resected recurrent GBM may be used as a readily available and accessible means of circumventing the blood brain barrier (BBB) selectively and focally. The laparoscopically harvested omental free flap with its long vascular pedicle length, wide rotational arc and available surface area would easily conform to many resected GBM cavities in our human patients with acceptable risk. The predictable and rich vascular anatomy of a laparoscopically harvested omental free makes it an ideal flap for cases of previously irradiated and/or infected wound beds. This is why it is successfully used in head and neck and skull base tumors. The permeability of the blood vessels of the laparoscopically harvested omental free flap should allow for improved delivery of chemotherapeutics and immune cells (macrophages and T cells) into the vicinity, extracellular space and microenvironment of the resected tumor cavity including the brain adjacent to the tumor (BAT). "Milky spots" within the omentum will also provide direct deposition of immune cells such as dendritic, macrophages and lymphocytes into the milieu of the resected GBM. The investigators aim to prove that this commonly surgical technique for head and neck cancers is safe in a small human cohort of patients with resected recurrent GBM and may improve progression-free survival (PFS).

Tracking Information