Drug Combo Fights Brain Tumors

Ivanhoe Newswire

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers have found a life-extending drug combination for people with a deadly type of brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Researchers from Duke Universitys Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center in Durham, N.C., studied 35 patients who had a recurrence of GBM. Each patient had already received standard treatment. For the study, the patients received a combination of the drugs bevacizumab (commonly known as Avastin) and irinotecan (Campto), a standard chemo drug.

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James J. Vredenburgh, M.D., from Duke, was quoted as saying, Historically, when GBM recurred, there had typically been very little else we could do. But results of this study reveal nearly half of the patients on the drug combo had no tumor progression after six months and nearly 80 percent were still alive after six months.

Researchers report, typically, about 75 percent of people treated with standard chemotherapy have disease progression after six months and less than 50 percent are alive after six months.

Dr. Vredenburgh was quoted as saying, We found that this drug combination could significantly improve outcomes for these people, who are typically given about three to six months to live. These results represent tremendous hope for these patients and their families.

Avastin works by inhibiting the blood supply to the tumor that would otherwise cause it to grow rapidly. It has been used successfully to treat several cancers, including colorectal and lung cancers.

Dr. Vredenburgh reports, We speculate that bevacizumab and irinotecan each attack a particular characteristic of the tumor independently or they work together, with the bevacizumab suppressing the growth of blood vessels which makes the tumor more susceptible to the chemotherapy.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oct. 20, 2007