RxPG News : Brain

Significant vaccine-enhanced immune response in malignant brain tumour

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:21:44 PST

Researchers conducting a clinical trial of a dendritic cell vaccine designed to fight malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) have found a correlation between the "intensity" of a patient's immune response and clinical outcome, according to an article in the July 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

Simultaneous implantation of radioactive seeds and chemotherapy wafers promising in glioblastoma multiforme treatment

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:31:57 PST

In the battle against malignant brain tumors, dual implantation of radioactive seeds and chemotherapy wafers following surgery showed promising results in a study led by specialists at the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University Hospital.

KetoCal diet: A non-invasive way to deal with malignant brain cancers

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:05:28 PST

Boston College biologists have identified an alternative, diet-based method of treating brain cancer that does not involve administering toxic chemicals, radiation or invasive surgery.

Bevacizumab holds promise for gliomas

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:20:13 PST

Avastin, a relatively new type of drug that shrinks cancerous tumors by cutting off their blood supply, can slow the growth of the most common and deadly form of brain cancer, a pilot study conducted at Duke University Medical Center has found.

'Gateway' gene discovered for brain cancer

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:36:24 PST

Researchers have discovered that the same genetic regulator that triggers growth of stem cells during brain development also plays a central role in the development of the lethal brain cancer malignant glioma. In experiments on mice with such gliomas, they showed that knocking out the function of a particular regulatory protein, Olig2, almost completely eliminated tumor formation.

Regulatory Approval for New Cotara(R) Brain Cancer Clinical Trial

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 01:17:00 PST

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, clinical stage products for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus infection, today announced that it has received regulatory approval in India for a new clinical trial of its lead tumor necrosis therapy (TNT) agent Cotara(R). The trial is designed to test the safety and efficacy of Cotara in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer. Cotara is currently being studied in a multi-center U.S. glioblastoma trial. Previous studies using Cotara to treat brain cancer have produced encouraging results, and Peregrine expects that positive data from this trial in combination with data from the ongoing U.S. clinical trial should provide the foundation for planning the future development and commercialization of Cotara.

Lead exposure linked with brain cancer

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 03:13:00 PST

People who are routinely exposed to lead on the job are 50 percent more likely to die from brain cancer than people who are not exposed, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study.

Synthetic scorpion venom delivers radioactive iodine to malignant gliomas

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 02:45:00 PST

A new method of delivering a dose of radioactive iodine using a man-made version of scorpion venom as a carrier targets deadly brain tumors called gliomas without affecting neighboring tissue or body organs. After a Phase I clinical trial conducted in 18 patients showed the approach to be safe, a larger Phase II trial is underway to assess the effectiveness of multiple doses.

Chromosomal Testing Can Determine Brain Tumor Therapy

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 03:39:00 PST

A trial involving two types of rare, malignant but treatable brain tumors shows that missing portions of two chromosomes can predict which patients will likely do better with therapy. The results, says senior author Walter J. Curran Jr., M.D., professor and chair of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, represents a paradigm shift in treating such tumors, known as gliomas.

Motexafin gadolinium extends cognitive function in patients with brain metastases

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:44:00 PST

The drug motexafin gadolinium (Xcytrin®), based on a molecule developed by chemists at The University of Texas at Austin, shows significant promise in prolonging cognitive function in patients with non-small cell lung cancer that has metastasized to the brain.

New vaccine to fight glioblastoma multiforme developed

Tue, 02 May 2006 22:40:00 PST

A vaccine to fight an aggressive form of brain tumour has been developed by US scientists, who say it can delay progression of the cancer.

New mouse model that closely mimics human medulloblastoma

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 01:38:00 PST

Researchers have created a mouse model that closely mimics human medulloblastoma, the most common type of childhood brain tumor. The new model, which was created by knocking out a key component of the DNA repair machinery, will aid in exploring the genetic roots of this deadly brain cancer. The researchers, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Frederick W. Alt, published their findings the week of April 24, 2006, in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Catherine Yan, who is in Alt's laboratory at Children's Hospital Boston, was lead author of the article. Other co-authors were from Brigham & Women's Hospital, CBR Institute of Biomedical Research, Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, all of Harvard Medical School.

Immune response protects against brain tumor development

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 07:02:00 PST

In their quest to determine whether immune system surveillance guards against brain tumor development, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that allergies and asthma that stimulate inflammation may be protective, but use of antihistamines to control the inflammation could eliminate that protection.

Long mobile use could cause brain tumours - New Study

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 07:01:00 PST

Using a cell phone for long periods could lead to malignant brain tumours, says a new study contradicting earlier findings which found no such link.

Donepezil helps cognitive function in brain tumor patients after radiation

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:50:00 PST

A drug that is marketed to treat Alzheimer's disease also improves cognitive function, mood and quality of life in brain tumor patients following radiation therapy, according to a research team at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Infections could trigger some adult brain tumours

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 15:54:00 PST

Infections could play a key role in triggering certain types of adult brain cancer, according to results from a new statistical analysis of the disease.

Mobiles not linked to increased risk of brain tumours

Sat, 21 Jan 2006 16:21:00 PST

Mobile phones are not associated with an increased risk of the most common type of brain tumour, finds the first UK study of the relationship between mobile phone use and risk of glioma. The results are published online by the BMJ.

No link between mobile phones and glioma

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:14:00 PST

Discovery could change the way doctors treat glioblastomas

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:46:00 PST

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer have identified key characteristics in certain deadly brain tumors that make them 51 times more likely to respond to a specific class of drugs than tumors in which the molecular signature is absent. The discovery of the telltale molecular signature the expression of a mutant protein and the presence of a tumor suppressor protein called PTEN will allow researchers to identify patients who are likely to respond to the drug treatment before they undergo therapies that are not likely to work, said Dr. Paul Mischel, a UCLA associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher.

Glioblastoma Gene Variations Can Predict Treatment Response

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:20:00 PST

Screening glioblastoma brain tumors for two gene variations can reliably predict which tumors will respond to a specific class of drugs, a new study shows. The findings may lead to improved treatment for this devastating disease. The study was funded in part by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and appears in the November 10, 2005, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Glioblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumors in adults, and they are notoriously difficult to treat successfully. "The survival with glioblastoma is usually a year on average, and that hasn't improved in a while, so this is a very serious and challenging disease," says Paul Mischel, M.D., of the David Geffen School of Medicine and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California , Los Angeles (UCLA), who led the study. While drugs are available to help treat glioblastoma, they often have minimal effect, and doctors usually have time to try only one or two treatments before the disease causes severe impairment. Glioblastomas feature many genetic variations that affect their response to different treatments. Researchers are trying to identify these genetic factors and to tease apart how they affect the disease in order to determine which patients are the most likely to benefit from specific drugs.

Evidence-based Review on Radiation for Brain Tumors

Sun, 11 Sep 2005 21:41:00 PST

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology gathered a panel of experts to compile and analyze existing studies on the use of radiosurgery, a specialized type of external beam radiation therapy that pinpoints high doses of radiation to treat brain tumors. The panel has developed evidence-based reviews that consolidate the information available and identify questions to be answered in future research. The two new reviews are published in the September 1, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

P-gp system let JV-1-36 pass into the brain to treat malignant glioblastomas

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 19:56:00 PST

A compound that kills cancer can sneak past the blood brain barrier, which protects the brain from foreign substances, to do its work in fighting a particularly invasive brain cancer, according to a new Saint Louis University animal study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition the week of Aug. 22.

Combined gene therapy can eliminate glioblastoma multiforme

Mon, 15 Aug 2005 17:44:00 PST

Despite aggressive treatment, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) the most common and deadly of brain cancers usually claims the lives of its victims within six to 12 months of diagnosis. Because GBM is so aggressive, the disease has been the target of a number of laboratory and clinical studies investigating the effectiveness of gene therapy to deliver novel therapies to the brain. In laboratory studies, this type of gene therapy has proved almost completely effective. But in clinical trials, it has had limited effectiveness.

Vaccine to target resistance-related antigen in Brain tumours

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 06:24:00 PST

In the August issue of the journal Oncogene, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute describe a molecular mechanism that appears to make malignant brain tumors more vulnerable to chemotherapy after they have been treated with the dendritic cell vaccine.

First Study to Prove association of Mobile Phones with Brain Tumours

Wed, 18 May 2005 14:55:00 PST

The findings are based on a sample of over 1400 adults aged between 20 and 80, living in the centre of Sweden. All of them had been diagnosed with a malignant or benign brain tumour between January 1997 and June 2000.

Chromosome Deletion Predicts Outcome in Neuroblastoma Patients

Wed, 18 May 2005 01:45:00 PST

Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Children's Oncology Group found that patients with neuroblastoma who are missing a portion of one of their chromosomes are less likely to survive than those without this genetic aberration, providing potentially important information to guide therapy.

Pituitary Gland Tumors Are Often Misdiagnosed

Sun, 01 May 2005 21:04:00 PST

A recent study found that tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than many health care professionals realize, with national prevalence rates averaging 16.7 percent.

CHMP Issues Positive Opinion for First-line Use of Temozolomide in the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme

Sun, 24 Apr 2005 08:22:00 PST

Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP - News) today reported that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of TEMODAL® (temozolomide) Capsules for first-line use in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common form of brain cancer. The CHMP recommendation serves as the basis for a European Commission approval.

No Link Between Cell Phone and Brain Tumors

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 18:02:00 PST

A new study has found no link between use of cell phones and the risk of developing a brain tumor.

Viruses May Treat Brain Tumors

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:36:00 PST

New research shows that a virus designed to kill cancer cells can significantly increase the survival of mice with an incurable human brain tumor, even in some animals with advanced disease.

Errant neuro-developmental gene implicated in brain cancer

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 00:49:00 PST

A gene that's normally silenced after contributing to brain development was found to be expressed in cells from medulloblastoma, the most common form of pediatric brain malignancy in children, scientists report in an article published in the February 1 issue of the journal Cancer Research. In their study, the scientists discovered that multiple extra copies of the gene, called OTX2, had been switched back on among tumor cells removed from patients with medulloblastoma brain tumors. In the United States, medulloblastoma accounts for approximately 30 percent of all pediatric brain tumors.