Clinical Trial Intelligence

Which EU/EEA Sites Lead Glioblastoma and Glioma Phase I–III Trial Participation?

17 June 2026

Across 79 glioblastoma/glioma Phase I–III trials, the strongest recurring site footprint is led by Universitaetsklinikum Heidelberg AöR and Hospital Universitari Vall D Hebron, each appearing in 13 distinct trial-site participations. France is the largest country platform with 190 site placements and 2,408 planned patients, while small molecules remain the dominant modality in 54 trials.

79
Included trials
Phase I–III glioblastoma/glioma trials
657
Site placements
Country-level site footprint
7,277
Planned patients
Country-level planned enrollment
13
Top site count
Heidelberg and Vall d’Hebron

Which EU/EEA sites lead glioblastoma and glioma Phase I–III trial participation?

The top 10 listed sites accounted for 103/639 site-trial participations (16.1%). Universitaetsklinikum Heidelberg AöR and Hospital Universitari Vall D Hebron led the ranking with 13 distinct trial participations each, followed by Centre Hospitalier Regional De Marseille with 12.

Top 10 sites by distinct trial participation
1
Universitaetsklinikum Heidelberg AöR
Germany
13
PI / PII / PIII
2
Hospital Universitari Vall D Hebron
Spain
13
PI / PII / PIII
3
Centre Hospitalier Regional De Marseille
France
12
PI / PII / PIII
4
Hospices Civils De Lyon
France
10
PI / PII / PIII
5
Centre Leon Berard
France
10
PI / PII / PIII
6
Universitaetsklinikum Tuebingen AöR
Germany
9
PI / PII / PIII
7
Universitaetsklinikum Essen AöR
Germany
9
PI / PII / PIII
8
Rigshospitalet
Denmark
9
PI / PII / PIII
9
Oslo University Hospital HF
Norway
9
PI / PII / PIII
10
Institut Gustave Roussy
France
9
PI / PII / PIII
Trial participation counted once per trial-site-country pairing; phase labels show whether the site appeared across Phase I, II, and III cohorts.
Interpretation

The top tier is not a single-country cluster: Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, and Norway all appear in the leading group. Operationally, the strongest recurring sites are broad neuro-oncology platforms rather than phase-specific centers, since every top-10 site appears across Phase I, II, and III cohorts.

Which countries carry the largest planned-patient and site footprint?

Across the included trials, country-level enrollment sums to 7,277 planned patients and 657 site placements. France led with 2,408/7,277 patients (33.1%) and 190/657 sites (28.9%), followed by Germany with 1,401 patients and 146 sites.

Top countries by planned participants
France
2,408 patients · 190 sites · 29 trials
Germany
1,401 patients · 146 sites · 25 trials
Netherlands
648 patients · 36 sites · 20 trials
Spain
526 patients · 83 sites · 17 trials
Italy
436 patients · 67 sites · 16 trials
Norway
423 patients · 23 sites · 11 trials
Sweden
384 patients · 23 sites · 7 trials
Denmark
314 patients · 23 sites · 14 trials
Belgium
268 patients · 22 sites · 9 trials
Poland
121 patients · 5 sites · 2 trials
Country-level planned participants and site counts aggregated across unique trials after trial-level deduplication.
Interpretation

France and Germany together represented 3,809/7,277 planned patients (52.3%). The top five countries represented 5,419/7,277 patients (74.5%) and 522/657 site placements (79.5%), making country selection a major driver of glioblastoma recruitment capacity.

Which glioblastoma and glioma disease segments drive the footprint?

Glioblastoma / GBM was the largest disease segment with 51/79 trials (64.6%), 367/657 site placements (55.9%), and 4,152/7,277 planned patients (57.1%). The next largest patient segment was IDH-mutant / grade 2–3 glioma with 1,133 patients.

Disease segment distribution by trials, sites, and planned patients
Glioblastoma / GBM
51/79 trials · 64.6%
4,152 planned patients · 367 site placements
Diffuse midline glioma / DIPG
7/79 trials · 8.9%
718 planned patients · 27 site placements
IDH-mutant / grade 2–3 glioma
7/79 trials · 8.9%
1,133 planned patients · 72 site placements
Low-grade / optic pathway glioma
6/79 trials · 7.6%
537 planned patients · 97 site placements
High-grade / malignant glioma
5/79 trials · 6.3%
598 planned patients · 55 site placements
Other glioma / mixed CNS tumor
3/79 trials · 3.8%
139 planned patients · 39 site placements
Disease segments are mutually assigned at trial level using the trial disease wording in the dataset.
Interpretation

The dataset is anchored by adult glioblastoma/GBM studies, but the non-GBM glioma market is operationally meaningful: diffuse midline glioma/DIPG, low-grade glioma, IDH-mutant glioma, and high-grade glioma together account for 28 trials and 3,125 planned patients.

Which intervention modalities are most common in glioblastoma/glioma trials?

Small molecules were present in 54/79 trials (68.4%), making them the dominant modality. Monoclonal antibodies appeared in 14/79 trials (17.7%), while radiopharmaceuticals and cell therapies appeared in 7 and 6 trials respectively. Combination treatment was present in 55/79 trials (69.6%).

Trial-level modality presence
Small molecule
68.4%
54/79 trials
Monoclonal antibody
17.7%
14/79 trials
Radiopharmaceutical
8.9%
7/79 trials
Other
7.6%
6/79 trials
Cell therapy
7.6%
6/79 trials
Peptide/protein/enzyme
6.3%
5/79 trials
ADC
2.5%
2/79 trials
Oligonucleotide
2.5%
2/79 trials
Diagnostic agent
2.5%
2/79 trials
Other antibody
2.5%
2/79 trials
Temozolomide · 22
Lomustine · 7
Vinblastine Sulfate · 4
Bevacizumab · 4
Nivolumab · 4
Tovorafenib · 3
A trial can contribute to more than one modality when multiple investigational products or combination components are listed.
Interpretation

The modality mix shows a conventional backbone with targeted and immune additions rather than a wholesale shift to advanced therapies. Temozolomide appeared in 22 trials and lomustine in 7, indicating that many studies still build around established neuro-oncology comparators or combination partners.

How does participation differ by phase and CTIS authorization year?

Phase II was the largest phase involvement group with 43/79 trials (54.4%), followed by Phase I with 36/79 (45.6%) and Phase III with 27/79 (34.2%). By authorization-year cohort, 53/79 trials (67.1%) were in 2024, 21/79 (26.6%) in 2025, and 5/79 (6.3%) in 2026.

Trial count by phase and authorization-year cohort
2024
2025
2026
Phase I
25
trials
9
trials
2
trials
Phase II
29
trials
10
trials
4
trials
Phase III
18
trials
8
trials
1
trials
Phase I
36/79
201 sites · 2,074 patients
Phase II
43/79
299 sites · 3,407 patients
Phase III
27/79
345 sites · 3,789 patients
Phase counts are trial-level phase involvement counts; phase-overlapping trials can appear in more than one phase group.
Interpretation

Phase II is the operational center of gravity, but Phase III still represents the largest patient footprint by phase involvement, with 3,789 planned patients. That pattern suggests a field with active exploratory development and a smaller number of large late-stage recruitment programs.

How much of the glioblastoma/glioma dataset sits at the oncology-neurology interface?

Oncology-only trials accounted for 56/79 trials (70.9%). Oncology plus neurology appeared in 12/79 trials (15.2%), while paediatric trials represented 20/79 (25.3%) and orphan-context trials represented 12/79 (15.2%).

Therapeutic-area and special-population profile
Oncology only
56
70.9% of trials
Oncology + Neurology
12
15.2% of trials
Oncology + other areas
6
7.6% of trials
Neurology only
2
2.5% of trials
Other / mixed
3
3.8% of trials
Paediatric trials
20
25.3% of trials
Orphan-designated context
12
15.2% of trials
Therapeutic-area labels, paediatric status, and orphan context are counted at trial level.
Interpretation

Glioblastoma and glioma trial operations are mostly oncology-led, but a meaningful subset crosses into neurology and paediatric neuro-oncology. This explains why the top-site list mixes oncology departments, neuro-oncology units, neurology services, and paediatric oncology centers.