Research suggests new treatment suitable for patients of all brain tumors
New research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center suggests that a three-drug cocktail may one day lead to better outcomes in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a type of brain tumor with a poor prognosis. Two of these drugs have been developed to kill, and the team is third on the way all goal-oriented cancer cells and impair work or spare healthy brain. Waldemar Debinski, MD, Ph.D., principal investigator and director of the Wake Forest Brain Tumor excellence, predicts that the cocktail could be tested in patients within five years.The first treatment should be based on the molecular signature of GBM tumors documented. The researchers had previously reported that three different proteins are found in high levels individually in these cancers. In this
study, reported in Clinical Cancer Research, have examined 76 specimens of brain tumors, including 46 GBM, and nine normal brain samples, to determine how frequently the markers appeared together. The expression of these three markers was significantly higher in GBM tissue compared to normal brain and brain tumors that do not cost as aggressive as GBM.Particularly important is that all GBM tumors had at least one of the markers present and 95 percent of tumors had at least two.This discovery offers a unique opportunity for treatment, said Debinski. No pre-therapy testing, we know for sure that at least one of these objectives is very much present in each patient and the patient is suitable for the combination of off-the-shelf drugs. It like having a crystal ball. In a
recent issue of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, the researchers reported developing a potent treatment targeted to one of the proteins (EphA2). In addition, a drug targeted to a second protein, interleukin 13 receptor alpha 2 (IL-13R 2) has already tested alone in a phase 3 clinical trials.Shown in this study, the second protein significant benefits for patients, and new generations are under development. The team is working Pages: [1] 2 3