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My good friend, and 12 year GBM survivor, Cheryl wrote a book about her experiances. She is donating 50% of the profits for the rest of the year to the Musella Foundation! Thanks Cheryl!
Live webcast tommorrow about this brain tumor vaccine.
It's a very good sign that the FDA gave orphan drug status! Keep an eye on this one.
As I mentioned a few issues ago, the IL13Ra2 antigen is one of my favorite targets. I will be watching this.
This article shows that when the surgeon thinks he/she "removed the entire tumor", he is wrong about 70% of the time. This shows the need for the approval of the dye that lets the surgeon tell where the tumor is when operating, and also for more hospitals to get intra-operative imaging tools like MRI or ultrasound that can help them tell where the tumor is.
Note that in many cases it is not possible to remove all of the tumor – the risk of neurological damage is too high, but the surgeon should know exactly how much of the tumor is being left behind. These tools can help.
Very important article.. I have been saying this for years: Patients do significantly (live 30% longer) better in clinical trials even if they are assigned to the control group. They are taken care of better.
This is a MUST SEE video of Dr Keith Black discussing his vaccine for Glioblastomas, and also mentioned the possibility of eventually using it with patient who have low grade gliomas to prevent them from transforming into high grade gliomas. Very exciting stuff... Disclaimer: Dr Black is on our medical advisory board and is an old friend. Although the Musella Foundation has funded the early work on this project (as well as funding the early work on one of the receptors used as a target), we have no financial interest in the outcome. We just want to see it succeed!
Interesting concept.. too early to help us now, but will keep an eye on it.
This newsletter is from our friends at the International Brain Tumor Association
ID1 is an interesting target for brain tumor (as well as many other types of cancer) treatments. It has been linked to invasion, growth and spread of tumors. It was found that Nicotine (from cigarette smoke) drastically increases the amount of ID1 in the body - which may be one of the links between smoking and cancers. These researchers may have found a non toxic drug that inhibits ID1, which may stop the growth of tumors. They have not done a human trial yet, but we will be watching for one!
This is one of my favorite targets for brain tumor treatments. The Musella Foundation has awarded 3 grants to the development of this system. IL-13 is found on most brain tumor cells. Previous attempts to target this receptor had only limited success, because it is also found on normal brain as well as other organs. This researcher found a way to create a protien that binds only to the tumor associatd form of the receptor and not the naturally occuring one. Net result is it only attaches to tumors and not normal brain. They are trying various ways of using thie targetting system. In this article, they discuss using it as an imaging agent - so we can see WHERE the tumor is - especially in cases where a regular MRI isn't helpfull as well as attaching a radioactive molecule to it to bring the radiation to the tumor cells. <br><br>
Not only can it target brain cancer, but it may also be useful for: Prostate, Melanoma, Lung, Colon Cancer, Ovarian Cancer and some Breast cancers. We have been trying to raise money for a human trial of this targeting system attached to a toxin.
Unfortunately, this trial shows that oral erlotinib (Tarceva) - an EGFR inhibitor - used by itself for recurrent gbms and anaplastic astrocytomas doesn't work well. Progression free survival was only 1.9 months. Keep in mind that this only applies to oral use - which may mean not enough of the drug is getting to the tumor, and using it by itself.. it is possible that using it in other ways with other treatments may help.
5-ALA is a dye used during brain tumor surgery to let the surgeon know where the tumor is. This article shows that it helps increase the chances of a total resection for a Glioblastoma, without increasing the complication rate. This dye is approved for use in Europe, but the USA FDA has not yet approved it here. It is in clinical trials here and hopefully will be approved soon.
This study shows that surgery alone for a recurrence of a GBM is not that useful: it adds on average 1 month to survival (compared to the group that had no treatments), and almost half of the patients had major complications from the surgery.
However, combining surgery with chemotherapy gave the best outcome, adding 9 months on average - while chemo alone added only 3 months.
This is a small study and apparently wasn't randomized - so we don't know if perhaps people who were in better shape got to get both surgery and chemotherapy, and the patients who were in worse shape got no treatment - which would completely invalidate the results. However, it makes sense that combining the treatments would give the best outcome. Perhaps adding more of the available treatments, like immunotherapy and tumor treating fields would yield even better results.
For those creative people out there who know how to create videos, here is a contest where you can win prizes and help a good organization! (The Musella Foundation also needs a volunteer to help create a public service announcement..)
Nice article about one of my old friends! A 45 year brain tumor survivor!
This has nothing to do with the Musella Foundation but they are a good organization and have funded some excellent research! If you are in the area - please participate and help spread the word of the event!
I thank the People who made this possible: Amy Marzolf and the Clouser Family, as well as the many families that named the Musella Foundation for the memorial donations of thier loved ones!
This trial opens up another options for people with low grade gliomas. The idea is to not only treat the tumor, but also to prevent it from progressing into a high grade glioma!
This article is based on smaller and earlier trials of adding Avastin to the standard of care for glioblastomas. They report an improvment in progression free survival, but only a small improvement in overall survival. We are eagerly awaiting the results of a much larger study - hopefully in 2-3 months - to clarify how best to use Avastin - either right at the start after radiation or wait until recurrence. Right now we really do not know which way is best.
Having said that, an improvement in progression free survival is still very important. It means that you can function and enjoy life for a longer time, and that is priceless.
5-ALA is approved in Europe and is in clinical trials in the USA. It helps the doctors to tell what is tumor and what is normal brain when doing a surgery. This should be approved soon here in the USA and should be used in most brain tumor surgeries. I do not understand what is holding it up.
