Neuro oncology News and Research

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John Muir Health earns Network Cancer Program accreditation

John Muir Health’s Walnut Creek and Concord campuses have earned a three-year accreditation with commendation as a Network Cancer Program (NCP) from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC), a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients. John Muir Health is one of only two hospitals in California and the only one in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the recognition.

24 Oct 2009

Updated data on XL184 study in patients with glioblastoma multiforme presented

Exelixis, Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today reported updated phase 2 clinical data which show that XL184 demonstrated activity in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.

24 Oct 2009

TransMolecular announces final results from its Phase 2 clinical study of 131I-TM601

TransMolecular, Inc., a developer of innovative oncology drugs through targeted delivery technologies, today announced final results from its Phase 2 clinical study comparing the toxicity and overall survival of three versus six intracavitary injections of its anti-cancer compound 131I-TM601 in the treatment of recurrent malignant glioma.

24 Oct 2009

Angiochem reports Phase 1/2 efficacy study results of ANG1005 for treating brain cancer

Angiochem, Inc. a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing drugs that are uniquely capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier to treat brain diseases, announced today that its lead drug candidate, ANG1005, has demonstrated a favorable safety and efficacy profile in more than 100 patients with brain cancer from two separate Phase 1 /2 clinical studies in patients with progressive gliomas, including recurrent glioblastoma, and in patients with progressive brain metastases.

19 Oct 2009

Angiochem announces results of Phase 1 /2 clinical trials of ANG1005

19 Oct 2009

Cancer Genome Atlas funds study for analysis and interpretation of tumor genetic data

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) will fund an effort by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to siphon buckets of meaningful information from an ocean of data about the aberrant genetics that drive human cancers.

8 Oct 2009

Research study reveals primary chemotherapy benefits

Initial chemotherapy alone after surgery is just as successful as initial radiation therapy for patients from whom a very malignant brain tumor (anaplastic glioma) was removed. With this treatment, the patients survive on average > 30 months without a recurrence. A study conducted by the Neurooncology Working Group of the German Cancer Society led by researchers from Heidelberg and Z-rich showed that patients in primary therapy benefit to the same extent from chemotherapy alone as from radiation alone.

3 Oct 2009

Avastin increases survival rates in recurrent glioblastoma affected patients

The targeted therapy Avastin, alone and in combination with the chemotherapy drug CPT-11, significantly increased response rates, progression-free survival times and survival rates in patients with a deadly form of brain cancer that had recurred.

3 Sep 2009

New director appointed at the Saint John’s Neuroscience Institute

Saint John’s Health Center today announced the appointment of world-renowned neurosurgeon Amin Kassam, MD, as Director of the new Saint John’s Neuroscience Institute and faculty member of the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s. Dr. Kassam will lead the development of the new Neuroscience Institute which will offer an international minimally invasive neurosurgery center, as well as neuro-oncology, neuro-vascular surgery and other neuroscience services.

31 Aug 2009

ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers suppress inflammation in mice

Conventional blood pressure medication can treat inflammation in an animal model mimicking multiple sclerosis (MS). This discovery was made by Dr. Michael Platten, head consultant at the department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and head of the Helmholtz Experimental Neuroimmunology Junior Research Group on at the German Cancer Research Center and his team in cooperation with scientists from Stanford University in California.

19 Aug 2009

Genome-wide map shows precisely where microRNAs do their work

MicroRNAs are the newest kid on the genetic block. By regulating the unzipping of genetic information, these tiny molecules have set the scientific world alight with such wide-ranging applications as onions that can't make you cry and therapeutic potential for new treatments for viral infections, cancer and degenerative diseases. But the question remains: How do they work?

17 Jun 2009

Needle biopsies safe in 'eloquent' areas of brain

After a review of 284 cases, specialists at the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute have concluded that performing a stereotactic needle biopsy in an area of the brain associated with language or other important functions carries no greater risk than a similar biopsy in a less critical area of the brain.

3 Jun 2009

3 events offer hope for people with brain tumors

People with brain tumors, and those who love and care for them, will observe Brain Tumor Awareness Week with three educational and celebratory events sponsored by the University of Rochester Medical Center and James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2009

Avastin safe and effective at delaying tumor progression

The use of Avastin alone to treat a subgroup of recurrent Grade 3 brain tumors showed it was safe and effective at delaying tumor progression, according to a retrospective study of 22 patients conducted by a researcher at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

6 Apr 2009

Discovery of marker for severity in adult brain cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a new biological indicator that may help identify which brain-cancer patients have the most aggressive forms of the disease.

1 Apr 2009

Angiogenesis inhibitor improves glioblastoma survival by reducing edema

The beneficial effects of anti-angiogenesis drugs in the treatment of the deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas appear to result primarily from reduction of edema - the swelling of brain tissue - and not from any direct anti-tumor effect, according to a study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of master regulator of motor neuron firing

When the Human Genome Project was complete, DNA bowed out of the limelight and gave way to RNA as a major player in genetic regulation.

15 Mar 2009

Promising clinical trial for Progeria "premature aging" disease

One of the fastest translations of a basic research discovery into a promising clinical trial for an "untreatable" and fatal disorder will be discussed publicly for the first time by the key players in this remarkable research story, on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)'s annual meeting in San Francisco.

14 Dec 2008

Best treatments found for long-term survival in low-grade gliomas

A new Mayo Clinic study found that patients with low-grade gliomas survived longest when they underwent aggressive surgeries to successfully remove the entire tumor.

3 Dec 2008

Antineoplaston treatment for gliomas granted orphan drug designation by FDA

The Burzynski Research Institute, Inc. (BRI) has announced that its antineoplaston A10 and antineoplaston AS2-1 therapy (ANP) has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the treatment of gliomas. It is estimated that in 2008 more than 21,000 men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with this type of cancer, with prevalence estimated at approximately 84,000 cases.

2 Dec 2008