Brain Cancer News and Research

RSS

There are two main types of brain cancer. Primary brain cancer starts in the brain. Metastatic brain cancer starts somewhere else in the body and moves to the brain. Brain tumors can be benign, with no cancer cells, or malignant, with cancer cells that grow quickly. Also called glioma, meningioma.

Biologists discover vulnerability of brain cancer cells

Biologists at MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have discovered a vulnerability of brain cancer cells that could be exploited to develop more-effective drugs against brain tumors.

9 Apr 2015

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon awarded Cortes de Cadiz Prize by the city council of Cadiz, Spain

Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa has been awarded the Cortes de Cadiz Prize in the category of surgery by the city council of Cadiz, Spain. The jury prize, in which members of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery took part, was awarded to Quinones-Hinojosa not only for his renowned scientific career but also for his “moving life experience,” which, the judges noted, is full of “self-improvement and success.”

9 Apr 2015

Two case studies provide potential new avenue for treatment of kidney cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center Kidney Cancer Program investigators have published what is believed to be the first reported successful use of stereotactic body radiation therapy for an often deadly complication of kidney cancer.

8 Apr 2015

Study suggests possibility of developing personalized treatments for brain cancer

DNA mutations can cause cancer but in some cases, more mutations may mean a better prognosis for patients. A Yale-led comprehensive genomic analysis of more than 700 brain tumors has revealed one such subtype of the most malignant brain tumor, called glioblastoma, or GBM. This subtype possesses thousands of tumor-specific DNA errors or mutations instead of dozens observed in most glioblastoma cases. It is also associated with longer survival.

8 Apr 2015

Researchers pinpoint molecular mechanisms that inhibit Hippo pathway in pediatric bone cancers

A particular molecular pathway permits stem cells in pediatric bone cancers to grow rapidly and aggressively, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.

2 Apr 2015

Experimental drug that attacks brain tumor cells passes early tests

An experimental drug that attacks brain tumor tissue by crippling the cells' energy source called the mitochondria has passed early tests in animal models and human tissue cultures, say Houston Methodist scientists.

25 Mar 2015

2015 Minds Matter event raises funds to support brain tumor research

One day in 2009, Maria Nijim's father got behind the wheel of his car and realized he couldn't see out of one eye. An MRI showed a tumor and then surgery confirmed a devastating diagnosis – glioblastoma – the most aggressive type of brain tumor.

25 Mar 2015

EHT expert paper raises important and unanswered questions about safety of wearable tech

Wearable technology is raising health concerns worldwide. A recent New York Times article by Nick Bilton is raising important and unanswered questions about the safety of wearable tech, according to the non-profit research group, Environmental Health Trust.

23 Mar 2015

Researchers find way to enhance effects of immunotherapy in glioblastoma

When cancer strikes, it may be possible for patients to fight back with their own defenses, using a strategy known as immunotherapy. According to a new study published in Nature, researchers have found a way to enhance the effects of this therapeutic approach in glioblastoma, a deadly type of brain cancer, and possibly improve patient outcomes.

20 Mar 2015

New radiation treatment for brain cancer implanted in first human being at CTRC

David Williams is the first human being ever to have a new radiation treatment implanted in the center of his brain tumor.

18 Mar 2015

Slow-growing tumors have treatment-resistant stem cells, shows study

Scientists are eager to make use of stem cells' extraordinary power to transform into nearly any kind of cell, but that ability also is cause for concern in cancer treatment.

12 Mar 2015

Tetanus booster shot enhances effect of vaccine therapy for lethal brain tumors

An innovative approach using a tetanus booster to prime the immune system enhances the effect of a vaccine therapy for lethal brain tumors, dramatically improving patient survival, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute researchers.

12 Mar 2015

Brain tumor experts launch revolutionary fast-track approach to cancer research

Brain tumor experts at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center have launched a revolutionary fast-track approach to cancer research, giving new hope to brain cancer patients.

10 Mar 2015

Chemotherapy, radiation therapy combination improves outcomes for people with low-grade brain cancer

New clinical-trial findings provide further evidence that combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy is the best treatment for people with a low-grade form of brain cancer. The findings come from a phase II study co-led by a researcher at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and researchers at the University of Maryland and at London Regional Cancer Program in Ontario, Canada.

10 Mar 2015

CPRIT awards research and recruitment grants to improve cancer research

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers more than $7.5 million in research grants to improve diagnostic and therapeutic services and research relating to cancers of the brain, breast, throat, and bone, as well as to improve scientific understanding of cancer biology.

9 Mar 2015

Novogen's TRXE-009 therapy shows promise against brain cancer

Australian/US biotechnology company, Novogen Limited, today announces that it has confirmed that one of its lead candidate products, TRXE-009, is showing the potential to become an important new therapy in the fight against adult and pediatric brain cancer.

4 Mar 2015

Novel drug mechanism shows promise against glioma cells

Researchers at UC Davis have developed and characterized a molecule that interferes with the internal regulation of cancer cells, causing them to self-destruct. This novel mechanism was found to be effective against glioma cells - responsible for a usually fatal type of brain cancer - and could be applicable to other highly aggressive cancers.

4 Mar 2015

MD Anderson scientists show why some brain cancer patients develop resistance to treatments

Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center may have discovered why some brain cancer patients develop resistance to standard treatments including radiation and the chemotherapy agent temozolomide.

3 Mar 2015

New cancer drug enters phase I clinical trials in humans

A new drug that prompts cancer cells to self-destruct while sparing healthy cells is now entering phase I clinical trials in humans. The drug, called PAC-1, first showed promise in the treatment of pet dogs with spontaneously occurring cancers, and is still in clinical trials in dogs with osteosarcoma.

27 Feb 2015

Researchers one step closer to understanding development of glioblastoma

Glioblastomas are a highly aggressive type of brain tumor, with few effective treatment options. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers are one step closer to understanding glioblastoma development following the identification of a key protein signaling pathway involved in brain tumor stem cell growth and survival.

26 Feb 2015