Notch inhibitors may offer breakthrough on brain cancer

Cancer researchers are hailing a preclinical proof-of-concept study demonstrating the effectiveness of a combo therapy in targeting and eliminating brain cancer cells, an important new strategy for defeating a lethal case of glioblastoma. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that by combining an experimental Notch inhibitor with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide they could slow tumor growth and recurrence in mice and tissue more effectively than either agent...

Brain cancer vax looks promising in small trial

A small Phase I trial of an experimental dendritic cell based brain cancer vaccine advanced by ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC) has produced some unusually positive results. Only 16 patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme--the most common of all brain cancers - were recruited for the study. But researchers report that 18 months after treatment began, almost half of the patients were still alive without any worsening of their disease. The 12-month disease-free survival from the time of...

Antigenics’ brain tumor vaccine offers new hope in PhII study

A new brain tumor vaccine designed to use a patient's own cells is now in mid-stage trials and could offer new hope to patients who have already undergone therapy. The Cleveland Plain Deal profiles the case of Leslie Robinson, who learned at the end of 2008 that he had Stage 4 glioblastoma. Robinson is now one of 50 patients enrolled in a Phase II study of the vaccine, which was based on the work of UC San Francisco investigator Dr. Andrew Parsa and licensed by Antigenics. The vaccine uses heat...