Valproic Acid May Prolong Survival in Glioblastoma
(OncLive - November 1st, 2011) New data suggest that patients with glioblastoma who are treated with valproic acid, an antiepileptic drug (AED), are likely to outlive patients who receive another type of AED or no AED at all. The study found that patients assigned to valproic acid added to conventional temozolomide radiochemotherapy survived three months longer than patients receiving other AEDs or no treatment. Read more.
Celldex brain cancer treatment scores EU orphan drug designation
(October 31, 2011) Celldex Therapeutics Inc. has won orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency for rindopepimut, its immunotherapy aimed at treating glioblastoma (GB), an aggressive form of brain cancer. Read more.
No use of adding chemotherapy in Avastin for glioblastoma
(October 11, 2011) Read more.
Treatment of cytomegalovirus with NSAID, antivirals reduced medulloblastoma growth
(HemOnc Today - October 25, 2011) Human cytomegalovirus may have an active and important role in medulloblastoma, suggesting that it may be a possible treatment target, according to the results of a recently published study. Treating cytomegalovirus with NSAID or antiviral medications, in addition to the use of certain chemotherapeutic agents, may offer a new treatment option for patients with this disease. Read more.
Nanoparticles seek and destroy glioblastoma in mice
(October 3, 2011) Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Rather than presenting as a well-defined tumor, glioblastoma will often infiltrate the surrounding brain tissue, making it extremely difficult to treat surgically or with chemotherapy or radiation. Likewise, several mouse models of glioblastoma have proven completely resistant to all treatment attempts. In a new study, a team led by scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies developed a method to combine a tumor-homing peptide, a cell-killing peptide, and a nanoparticle that both enhances tumor cell death and allows the researchers to image the tumors. When used to treat mice with glioblastoma, this new nanosystem eradicated most tumors in one model and significantly delayed tumor development in another. Read more.
Release of glutamate from gliomas sparks seizures
New evidence suggests that excessive glutamate released from glioma cells causes epileptic activity in peritumoral neurons, which may be stopped by a drug that blocks the release of glutamate from tumor cells. Read more.
Scientists Say Human Cytomegalovirus Plays Pathogenic Role in Medulloblastoma
(September 28, 2011) Scientists have found that treating medulloblastomas in experimental mice using an antiviral drug and COX-2 inhibitor effectively slows tumor growth. The Karolinska Institutet-led team hit on the therapeutic approach following the observation that the majority of both primary medulloblastomas and medulloblastoma cell lines were persistently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The virus induces COX-2 expression and production of the COX-2 PGE2, both of which are present at high levels in medulloblastomas and stimulate tumor cell proliferation. Deregulation of mechanisms that control cell motility plays a key role in tumor progression by promoting tumor cell dissemination. Read more.
Autocrine Netrin Function Inhibits Glioma Cell Motility and Promotes Focal Adhesion Formation
(September 28, 2011) — Deregulation of mechanisms that control cell motility plays a key role in tumor progression by promoting tumor cell dissemination. Read more.
Choice of seizure drug for brain tumor patients may affect survival
ScienceDaily (September 1, 2011) — New research suggests brain tumor patients who take the seizure drug valproic acid on top of standard treatment may live longer than people who take other kinds of epilepsy medications to control seizures. The research is published in the August 31, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Read more.
New imaging technique tracks brain cancer cells
Molecular Imaging (August 30, 2011) — Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland have developed a cryo-imaging technique to view a mouse model of glioblastoma multiforme, according to a study published online Aug. 23 in Cancer Research. Read more.
Brain tumors found to have a two-tier system
eBioNews (August 27, 2011) — Ependymomas are the second most frequent type of malignant brain tumor in children. Ependymoma develops from precursor cells of the tissue that lines the hollow cavities of the brain. Therapy results of ependymoma vary immensely: While in some patients tumor growth comes to a standstill after surgery and radiotherapy, in other children the disease rapidly takes a severe course. In about half of those affected the tumor continues to grow and the patients often succumb to the disease. Read more.
Immunogene therapy combined with standard treatment is safe for patients with brain tumors
The Ohio State University (August 14, 2011) — A clinical trial has shown that a form of gene therapy is safe for treating a deadly form of brain cancer, even when combined with radiation therapy. The phase 1b trial was conducted at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) and at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston, TX. Read more.
