Clinical efficacy and safety assessment of specific model electroacupuncture stimulation in enhancing paclitaxel delivery across the blood-brain barrier for recurrent malignant glioma: study protocol of a single-arm trial

Introduction Despite advances in surgical techniques, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the prognosis for patients with recurrent malignant gliomas remains poor. Although paclitaxel is widely used for peripheral solid tumors and demonstrates potent antitumor effects in glioma cell lines in vitro, its clinical efficacy against recurrent malignant gliomas via intravenous administration remains suboptimal due to blood-brain barrier (BBB) restrictions. Recent studies have demonstrated that specific-mode electrical stimulation (SMES) can transiently open the BBB, thereby enhancing tumor accumulation of albumin-bound paclitaxel (ABX) and exerting anti-glioma effects.This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety profile of SMES combined with ABX in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas. Methods and analysis This is a single-center, single-arm, prospective phase II clinical trial. A total of 20 patients with histologically confirmed recurrent malignant gliomas (WHO grade 4) will be enrolled. Eligible patients will receive intravenous ABX (135–175 mg/m²) every 21 days for a total of 6 cycles. A Simon’s two-stage design will be employed, with the primary endpoint being the 4-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. Secondary endpoints include adverse events (AEs), disease control rate (DCR), objective response rate (ORR), duration of disease control (DDC), duration of response (DOR), Neurological Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (NANO) score, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. The study findings will be presented at international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.