Brain Tumor News and Research

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A Brain Tumor is the growth of abnormal cells in the tissues of the brain. Brain tumors can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer).

Scientists develop mathematical method for classifying forms of glioblastoma

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have developed a mathematical method for classifying forms of glioblastoma, an aggressive and deadly type of brain cancer, through variations in the way these tumor cells "read" genes. Their system was capable of predicting the subclasses of glioblastoma tumors with 92 percent accuracy. With further testing, this system could enable physicians to accurately predict which forms of therapy would benefit their patients the most.

18 Feb 2014

Researchers use new technique that can partially move tumors from inoperable locations in brain

One factor that makes glioblastoma cancers so difficult to treat is that malignant cells from the tumors spread throughout the brain by following nerve fibers and blood vessels to invade new locations.

17 Feb 2014

FDA approves IMRIS’ VISIUS Surgical Theatre that integrates high-field MR scanners

IMRIS Inc. today announced US Food and Drug Administration clearance of the newest generation VISIUS® Surgical Theatre which integrates Siemens' latest high-field MR scanners.

14 Feb 2014

Cedars-Sinai receives $1M grant to study molecular changes in brain due to air pollutants

Researchers at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai will conduct a study to determine if several potentially toxic compounds that exist in polluted air are capable of entering the brain from the bloodstream and causing brain cancer.

12 Feb 2014

Combination of SYK and FLT3 enzymes promotes progression of acute myelogenous leukemia

Reinforcing the need to look beyond genomic alterations to understand the complexity of cancer, researchers from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center report that a normal enzyme called SYK pairs with FLT3, the most commonly mutated enzyme found in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), to promote progression of the disease.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers examine link between gender and genetic disorder

A genetic disorder that affects about 1 in every 2,500 births can cause a bewildering array of clinical problems, including brain tumors, impaired vision, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, heart defects and bone deformities. The symptoms and their severity vary among patients affected by this condition, known as neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).

9 Feb 2014

Chemotherapy following radiation therapy improves survival for adults with brain tumor

Adults with low-grade gliomas, a form of brain tumor, who received a chemotherapy regimen following completion of radiation therapy, lived longer than patients who received radiation therapy alone, according to long-term follow-up results from a National Institutes of Health-supported randomized controlled clinical trial.

6 Feb 2014

Children who received radiation as part of treatment may have lower long-term survival rates, says study

The first comprehensive, large-scale cohort study of the long-term survival of children treated for low-grade gliomas, the most common pediatric brain tumor, finds that almost 90 percent are alive 20 years later and that few die from the tumor as adults.

4 Feb 2014

IDH1 gene mutation determines best treatment for malignant astrocytomas

Astrocytomas are the most common malignant brain tumors. While most patients' tumors prove to be quite aggressive, outcomes overall can vary widely, with some patients surviving for many years.

4 Feb 2014

Research shows promise for developing a method of clearly identifying cancerous tissue during surgery

First-of-its-kind research by the Innovation Institute at Henry Ford Hospital shows promise for developing a method of clearly identifying cancerous tissue during surgery on one of the most common and deadliest types of brain tumor.

30 Jan 2014

Clinical trial of experimental vaccine targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent brain tumor

An early-phase clinical trial of an experimental vaccine that targets cancer stem cells in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and aggressive malignant brain tumor, has been launched by researchers at Cedars-Sinai's Department of Neurosurgery, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Brain Tumor Center and Department of Neurology.

25 Jan 2014

Childhood brain cancer (ETMR/ETANTR): an interview with Dr. Nada Jabado, Department of Pediatrics at McGill University

Embryonal tumours with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) are rare, deadly brain tumours that affect mainly children below the age of 4 years. There are 300 cases reported but probably there are many more as this tumour is often misdiagnosed.

21 Jan 2014

Agenus' Prophage vaccine Phase 2 study hailed in Neuro-Oncology journal

Agenus Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel immune system activating treatments for cancers and infectious diseases, announced that Phase 2 results of Prophage G-200 vaccine in recurrent patients with glioblastoma multiforme were hailed as 'exciting' and a 'very promising therapy' in an editorial published in Neuro-Oncology, the leading journal of the Society of Neuro-Oncology.

21 Jan 2014

Cedars-Sinai researcher to receive 2014 Troland Research Award

Ueli Rutishauser, PhD, assistant professor of neurosurgery and director of human neurophysiology research in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai, will receive a 2014 Troland Research Award at the National Academy of Sciences annual meeting April 27.

16 Jan 2014

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

A team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Broad Institute has found that a gene mutation associated with several types of cancer also may be responsible for a rare but debilitating brain tumor called papillary craniopharyngioma.

13 Jan 2014

New study gives hope for novel glioblastoma multiforme treatment

A new study is giving researchers hope that novel targeted therapies can be developed for glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, after demonstrating for the first time that a gene known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9/syntenin (mda-9/syntenin) is a driving force behind the disease's aggressive and invasive nature.

9 Jan 2014

Antipsychotic medication can actively combat cells of difficult-to-treat form of ALL

In a prime example of finding new uses for older drugs, studies in zebrafish show that a 50-year-old antipsychotic medication called perphenazine can actively combat the cells of a difficult-to-treat form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The drug works by turning on a cancer-suppressing enzyme called PP2A and causing malignant tumor cells to self-destruct.

9 Jan 2014

e-Therapeutics announces continuation of ETS2101 phase I trial in brain cancer

e-Therapeutics plc today announces that the investigator-led phase I trial of ETS2101 in brain cancer will continue into 2014. Five dose escalation steps have been completed without any drug-related serious adverse events and the investigator therefore intends to enrol further patients at higher dose levels.

7 Jan 2014

New approach aims to prevent brain cancer recurrence by attacking tumors at the source

Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery identified immune system targets on cancer stem cells - cells from which malignant brain tumors are believed to originate and regenerate - and created an experimental vaccine to attack them.

6 Jan 2014

BBC TV report profiles NW Bio's DCVax-L Phase III trial for GBM brain cancer

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.("NW Bio"), a biotechnology company developing non-toxic DCVax® personalized immune therapies for solid tumor cancers, announced today that the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) TV network has broadcast a report profiling the first European patient in the Company's Phase III clinical trial of DCVax-L for Glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer.

31 Dec 2013