NEW HOPE FOR BRAIN TUMORS
Glioblastoma is the most comon and the deadliest of brain cancers. It strikes all ages, including children. A new treatment is giving patients hope for the very first time.
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Dave Herbert was happily enjoying life when something went terribly wrong.
Dave Herbert
Had Brain Cancer
"I was reading the paper and all of a sudden I couldn't read every other word."
An MRI of his brain showed David had a glioblastoma.
Dave Herbert
"The worst kind of tumor I could have, and I could probably expect maybe six months."
Surgeons can usually cut the tumor out, but there's one problem.
Sandeep Kunwar, MD
Neurosurgeon
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
"We know that one or two inches from where the tumor is located there are microscopic tumor cells mixed in with normal cells."
Until now, nothing could kill the stray cells, so the tumor always came back. Patients rarely survived beyond 15 months. But Dave was diagnosed five years ago.
Sandeep Kunwar, MD
"What's most impressive is there's no evidence of any tumor coming back."
Dave was the first person ever to receive a new drug and a new way of delivering it to the brain.
Doctor Sandeep Kunwar inserted slim tubes into Dave's brain to infuse the drug IL 13-PE38QQR.
Sandeep Kunwar, MD
"It's a molecularly-targeted drug. It binds to tumor cells within the brain without damaging the normal tissue."
That means patients retain cognitive function and can do just about anything they please.
Early studies show out of 36 patients, nine are alive two to five years later. Six are cancer-free!
Sandeep Kunwar, MD
"For the first time, what it's shows us is we're on the right track."
Dave Herbert
"I want to see my grandchildren graduate from college."
A wish that everyone's hoping will come true.
Right now, the drug is being given in a one-time dose and infuses over a 3-day period. Researchers have not observed any major side effects. More clinical trials are under way on 300 patients in 55 centers throughout the world.
BACKGROUND: More than 40,000 Americans will develop a new brain tumor this year. About half of those tumors will be primary. The remaining tumors will come from cancer that started in another part of the body and spread to the brain. Individuals of any age can develop a brain tumor. In fact, they are the second most common cause of cancer-related death in people up to age 35, with a slight peak in occurrence among children between the ages of 6 and 9. However, brain tumors are most common among middle-aged and older adults. People in their 60s face the highest risk. Each year one of every 5,000 people in this age group develops a brain tumor. The deadliest type of brain tumor is called a glioblastoma. Most people with this type of cancer do not live more than 15 months past their initial diagnosis. Brain tumors can cause a wide array of symptoms. These include headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures, vision and hearing problems, and behavioral and cognitive changes.
TREATMENTS: Surgery is one option for treating a brain tumor. Surgeons try to remove as much tumor as possible. Sometimes, tumors cannot be operated on because of their location. Too much damage may be done in the process of removing the tumor. Another problem is even if the largest part of the tumor is removed, there are often microscopic cancer cells mixed in with the normal brain tissue surrounding the tumor site. Any of these cells could give rise to a new tumor. Finding ways to destroy those cells without damaging the healthy tissue has been an ongoing goal for cancer researchers.
NEW HOPE: Glioblastoma is one of the most difficult brain cancers to treat. The cancer cells from this type of tumor spread throughout the brain. Using radiation and standard chemotherapies to seek out and kill those cells is difficult. Furthermore, the brain has special blood vessels which protect the brain from harmful substances. Chemotherapy injected into an arm or swallowed in pill form would not reach the brain in adequate levels. A new drug, called IL 13-PE38QQR is being tested by neurosurgeon Sandeep Kunwar, M.D., of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. This new drug is designed to get around many of the obstacles to treating glioblastomas. The drug is designed to attack only glioblastoma cancer cells. Dr. Kunwar injects the drug directly into the brain to deliver high concentrations of the medicine. It's made by fusing a human protein, Interleukin 13, with a fragment of a bacterial toxin protein, Pseudomonas exotoxin. The human protein is attracted to the glioblastoma cells. The cancer cells absorb the protein. That's when the bacterial toxin is released, killing the cell. Early studies on 36 terminally ill patients have been encouraging. Study participants lived several months longer than expected. Nine are still alive one to four years later, and eight are cancer-free. Further testing is needed before the drug would be submitted to the FDA for approval.
Carol Hyman
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco Medical Center
3333 California St. Suite 103
San Francisco, CA 94143-0462
(425) 476-2557
chyman@pubaff.ucsf.edu
pub.ucsf.edu
Copyright © 2006 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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