{"entity":{"id":"aminolevulinic-acid-gleolan","kind":"drug","name":"5-Aminolevulinic acid (oral, for glioma surgery)","aka":[],"tldr":"A drink taken before brain surgery that makes high-grade glioma glow under blue light, letting surgeons remove more tumour safely.","summary":"Oral 5-aminolevulinic acid is taken up by glioma cells and converted to protoporphyrin IX, which fluoresces pink-red under blue light at 400 to 410 nm through the surgical microscope, so the surgeon can distinguish tumour from brain and resect more of it while sparing normal tissue. Stummer's randomised trial (Lancet Oncology 2006) showed complete resection in 65% versus 36% of patients and better six-month progression-free survival. The EMA approved it in 2007 for WHO grade III and IV glioma surgery and the FDA in 2017, the first optical imaging agent for brain surgery. The trial was not powered for overall survival. Related aminolevulinate compounds are used topically for actinic keratosis photodynamic therapy (Levulan, Ameluz) and in the bladder (hexaminolevulinate). It is a drink that makes brain tumours glow.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-08","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aminolevulinic_acid","links":[{"label":"Stummer 2006 (Lancet Oncol)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(06)70665-9"},{"label":"Label (DailyMed)","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=Gleolan"}],"tags":["gap-fill","diagnostic"],"related":[],"cancers":["glioblastoma"],"sections":[],"technologies":["fluorescence-guided-surgery","optical-imaging"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["photonamic"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["nct05804370"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-stummer-lancet-oncol"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"brand":"Gleolan / Gliolan","modality":"Fluorescence-guided surgery agent (protoporphyrin IX precursor)","mechanism":"Oral 5-ALA is taken up by glioma cells and converted to protoporphyrin IX, which fluoresces pink-red under blue light (400-410 nm) through the surgical microscope.","approvals":[{"region":"EU","year":2007,"indication":"Visualisation of malignant tissue during surgery for WHO grade III-IV glioma"},{"region":"US","year":2017,"indication":"Imaging agent for visualisation of malignant tissue during glioma surgery (suspected high-grade)"}],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/aminolevulinic-acid-gleolan/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"glioblastoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Glioma & glioblastoma","route":"/cancers/glioblastoma/"},{"id":"multiple-myeloma","kind":"cancer","name":"Multiple myeloma","route":"/cancers/multiple-myeloma/"}],"technology":[{"id":"fluorescence-guided-surgery","kind":"technology","name":"Fluorescence-guided surgery","route":"/technologies/fluorescence-guided-surgery/"},{"id":"optical-imaging","kind":"technology","name":"Optical & fluorescence imaging","route":"/technologies/optical-imaging/"}],"company":[{"id":"photonamic","kind":"company","name":"photonamic","route":"/companies/photonamic/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct05804370","kind":"trial","name":"Gleolan for Visualization of Newly Diagnosed or Recurrent Ovarian Cancer (OVA-302)","route":"/trials/nct05804370/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-stummer-lancet-oncol","kind":"paper","name":"Fluorescence-guided surgery with 5-aminolevulinic acid for resection of malignant glioma: a randomised controlled multicentre phase III trial","route":"/key-papers/paper-stummer-lancet-oncol/"}]}}