"Sci-fi" cancer therapy fights brain tumors, study finds This is the final results of the Optune trial. Survival rates were 43 percent versus 31 percent at two years; 26 percent versus 16 percent at three years, and 13 percent versus 5 percent at five years. These results are impressive. The survival advantage has improved since the last report as there are now more 5 year survivors. All subgroups of patients had a benefit - methylated or unmethylated, young or old, gross total resection and biopsy only. They also clarified their position of letting every patient who wants to use it get it regardless of ability to pay.
Medicenna BioPharma Announces Strategic Collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center to Advance Next Generation Empowered Cytokines™ Early results were very impressive. This is a different type of immunotherapy that does not depend on the body creating antibodies. It is an old treatment that was hampered in the past by an inability to get the drug where it is needed. With modern equipment, it is now possible to get it exactly where it is needed and it should do a lot better. I will be keeping an eye on this trial!
Disclosure: This company is a sponsor of our organization.
VBI Vaccines Building On Duke University Research for New Cancer Therapy This is an exciting new treatment. IF it is true that most GBMs have the CMV virus, this vaccine should work. As I mentioned in recent stories, it is controversial if that is true. A few researcher say almost all GBMs have it and a few others say NO GBM have it. If this vaccine works, it is more proof of that theory.
Is it time for "Conditional Approvals"? I have been working on this plan for a while, but I think now is the time for it to actually be approved. Everything is coming together - like the perfect storm:
1. We finally have a few experimental treatments in the pipeline that look really good.
2. The new president is slashing regulations and calling for faster FDA approvals and for slashing drug prices.
3. Computer technology and biostatistics have reached the point where our plan for a registry trial can be just as reliable - maybe more so - than traditional phase 3 trials.
IF this plan is put into effect, I predict we would have an immediate breakthrough in the treatment of brain tumors, and the possibility of a cure in a few years, instead of the decades it would take on the current path.
I need the support of other organizations now, and in a few weeks I may need everyone to be writing letters and making phone calls. I will send out details when it is time!
