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cns cancers

Long-Term Infusion of Immunotherapy May Reduce Pain in Children With High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Changing the infusion delivery method of the monoclonal antibody ch14.18/CHO (dinutuximab-beta, the European counterpart of dinutuximab [Unituxin]) in combination with interleukin-2 and oral 13-cis-retinoic acid from short-term infusion to long-term infusion in the treatment of children with...

cns cancers

Combination of Chemotherapy and T-Cell Immunotherapy May Provide Novel Treatment Strategy for Glioblastoma

A preclinical study has found that a combination of decitabine and T-cell immunotherapy demonstrated antitumor activity against glioblastomas in mouse models and was about 50% effective at curing the disease. The results, reported by Everson et al in Neuro-Oncology, show an innovative,...

cns cancers

Complete Resection of High-Grade Gliomas Yields Better Survival in Children, Especially Girls

For children with aggressive brain cancers called high-grade gliomas, the chances of survival are improved when surgery is successful in eliminating all visible cancer, according to a report published by McCrea et al in Neurosurgery. In addition to showing better survival with gross total...

cns cancers

Study Reveals Effects of Chemoradiation in Brains of Glioblastoma Patients

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center researchers—the first to examine the effects of combined radiation and chemotherapy on the healthy brain tissue of glioblastoma patients—revealed not only specific structural changes within patients’ brains, but also...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Medullablastomas Can Be Classified Noninvasively at Diagnosis

Medulloblastoma, the most commonly occurring malignant brain tumor in children, can be classified into four subgroups, each with a different risk profile requiring subgroup-specific therapy. Currently, subgroup determination is done after surgical removal of the tumor. Investigators at...

cns cancers
gynecologic cancer
colorectal cancer
leukemia
lymphoma
skin cancer
gynecologic cancer
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issues in oncology
issues in oncology

Noninvasive Prenatal Testing May Also Detect Some Maternal Cancers

A study published by Bianchi et al in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that genetic test results revealed by noninvasive prenatal testing for fetal chromosomal abnormalities may detect underlying conditions in the mother, including cancer. The study reports on a case...

cns cancers

FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Anti‑Tropomyosin Drug for Neuroblastoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation to Novogen Limited’s chemotherapy candidate drug Anisina for neuroblastoma. Anisina is a small molecule belonging to a family of compounds called anti-tropomyosins. It has been designed to inhibit Tpm3.1, a...

issues in oncology
cns cancers

Early Study Suggests Which Glioblastoma Patients May Benefit From Dasatinib

Clinicians testing the drug dasatinib (Sprycel), approved for several blood cancers, had hoped it would slow the aggressive growth of the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma; however, clinical trials to date have not found any benefit. Researchers at Mayo Clinic, who conducted one of those clinical...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Molecular Classification of Glioma Based on IDH Mutation, 1p/19q Codeletion, and TERT Promoter Mutation Status

In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eckel-Passow et al identified a molecular classification scheme for gliomas based on IDH mutation, codeletion of chromosome arms 1p and 19q (1p/19q codeletion), and TERT promoter mutation status. Molecular Classification The study...

palliative care
cns cancers
issues in oncology
issues in oncology

ASCO 2015: Gene Therapy Paired With Traditional Surgical Resection Benefits Patients With Glioblastoma

Houston Methodist Neurological Institute neurosurgeon David Baskin, MD, presented preliminary data from a phase II clinical trial that suggests gene therapy  (AdV-Tk therapy), which uses a mediated herpes simplex virus, combined with a traditional treatment—surgical resection—could ...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Assay Permits Rapid Molecular Characterization of Glioma

As reported in JAMA Oncology, Shankar et al developed a rapid genotyping assay to detect single nucleotide variants in telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) genes that may assist in intraoperative decisions to perform definitive neurosurgical...

issues in oncology
cns cancers
issues in oncology

Multicenter Study Redefines Brain Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment 


Scientists at multiple institutions have found a new way of classifying brain cancers that could very well change how the illness is diagnosed and treated. The study, a project of The Cancer Genome Atlas, found striking molecular differences between various forms of gliomas by looking at the makeup ...

cns cancers

ASCO 2015: Glioblastoma Poliovirus Therapy Works Best at a Low Dosage

A modified poliovirus therapy that is showing activity in patients with glioblastoma works best at a low dosage, according to the research team at Duke’s Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. The dosage findings for the first 20 patients in the phase 1 trial were presented June 1 at the...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

ASCO 2015: Study Supports IDH Gene as Prognostic Marker in Anaplastic Astrocytoma

New findings from a phase III clinical trial suggest the IDH1 gene may be a prognostic marker for anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare form of brain cancer. The results of this study were presented on June 2 at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago (Abstract 2002). Patients in this study who had a...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Addition of Bevacizumab to Radiotherapy and Temozolomide Does Not Worsen Health-Related Quality of Life in Glioblastoma Patients

In the phase III AVAglio trial, the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to radiotherapy and temozolomide improved progression-free survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. As reported by Taphoorn et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, bevacizumab treatment did not worsen...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Blood Thinners Safe for Cancer Patients With Brain Metastases

Cancer patients with brain metastases who develop blood clots may safely receive blood thinners without increased risk of dangerous bleeding, according to a study published by Donato et al in Blood. Cancer increases a patient’s risk of developing blood clots, and an anticoagulant is often...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Preclinical Study Points to Possible Treatment for Lethal Pediatric Brain Cancer

Using brain tumor samples collected from children in the United States and Europe, an international team of scientists found that the drug panobinostat (Farydak) and similar gene-regulating drugs may be effective at treating diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive and lethal form of...

cns cancers
supportive care

Donepezil Provides Modest Improvement in Cognitive Function Domains in Irradiated Brain Tumor Survivors

In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rapp et al found that the neurotransmitter modulator donepezil may modestly improve some cognitive function domains in patients undergoing cranial irradiation for brain tumors. Improvements were greater in patients with greater...

cns cancers
issues in oncology
supportive care
issues in oncology

Study Recommends Brain Cancer Patients Be Screened for Depression

Depression in brain cancer patients is a common but often overlooked condition, and oncologists should regularly screen tumor patients for depression, according to an article by Pranckeviciene and Bunevicius in CNS Oncology. The authors, both of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences,...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Preliminary Study Reveals Gene Regulatory Path as Target for Aggressive Pediatric Brain Cancer

Working with cells taken from children with a very rare but aggressive form of brain cancer, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have identified a genetic pathway that acts as a master regulator of thousands of genes, and may spur cancer cell growth and resistance to anticancer treatment. ...

cns cancers

NIH-Funded Study Suggests Novel Strategy to Improve Vaccine Efficacy in the Treatment of Glioblastoma

Although dendritic cell–based immunotherapy has shown limited promise in the treatment of patients with advanced cancers, including glioblastoma, the factors dictating dendritic cell–based vaccine efficacy have been poorly understood. Now, a clinical trial funded by the National...

cns cancers

Clinically Distinct Subgroup of Childhood Secondary High-Grade Glioma Defined by BRAF Mutation and CDKN2A Deletion

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mistry et al found that presence of BRAF V600E mutation and CDKN2A deletion defined a clinically distinct subtype of pediatric secondary high-grade glioma. BRAF V600E mutation was associated with a prolonged time to transformation. Study...

cns cancers

Clinical Trial Suggests Temozolomide-Based Chemoradiation Is Best for Low-Grade Brain Tumors

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...

cns cancers

Similar Local Recurrence Rates But Increased Distant Metastases With Adjuvant Localized vs Whole-Brain Radiotherapy in Patients With Brain Metastases

In patients who had undergone surgery for brain metastases, the rate of recurrence at the resected site was similar between patients who received adjuvant whole-brain radiotherapy vs those who underwent adjuvant localized radiotherapy, according to a retrospective study by Hsieh et al in the...

cns cancers

FDA Approves Dinutuximab Combination for Pediatric Patients With High-Risk Neuroblastoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved dinutuximab (Unituxin) as part of first-line therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Dinutuximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds to the surface of neuroblastoma cells, is being approved for use as part of a...

cns cancers

Preclinical Study Shows Promise for the Development of Personalized Cellular Therapy for Brain Cancer

Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer were found to be safe and effective at controlling tumor growth in mice that were treated with these modified cells, according a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Novartis...

cns cancers

Study Finds Improved Survival for Young Patients With Brain Metastases Who Receive Stereotactic Radiosurgery Alone

Cancer patients with limited brain metastases (one to four tumors) who are 50 years old and younger should receive stereotactic radiosurgery without whole-brain radiotherapy, according to a study by Saghal et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics....

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Scientists Identify Genetic Variations Linked to Treatment-Related Hearing Loss in Young Patients With Cancer

Using a genome-wide associated study approach, researchers have identified inherited genetic variations in the ACYP2 gene that were linked to as much as a fourfold greater risk of rapid hearing loss in young patients with newly diagnosed brain tumors treated with cisplatin chemotherapy. The study...

lung cancer
cns cancers

Crizotinib Produces Systemic and Intracranial Disease Control in Patients With Advanced ALK-Rearranged NSCLC and Brain Metastases

In a retrospective analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Costa et al found that crizotinib (Xalkori) treatment resulted in high systemic and intracranial disease control rates in patients with ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had asymptomatic brain...

cns cancers
pancreatic cancer
issues in oncology
sarcoma

Researchers Identify Potential Treatment Targeting Proliferation Pathway in Some Aggressive Tumors

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a potential treatment targeting a pathway by which several aggressive tumors maintain their ability to proliferate, according to a study by Flynn et al published...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Long-Term Use of Hormonal Contraceptives Could Lead to Increased Risk of Brain Tumors

Taking a hormonal contraceptive for at least 5 years is associated with a possible increase in women’s risk of developing a glioma, according to a study by Andersen et al published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. Study Details While little is known about the causes of...

issues in oncology
cns cancers
cns cancers
pancreatic cancer
issues in oncology
solid tumors

ATRX Mutation Linked to Brain and Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors May Be Biomarker for Rare Adrenal Tumors

A somatic mutation in the ATRX gene has recently been identified as a potential molecular marker for gliomas, neuroblastomas, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that the same mutated gene may serve...

cns cancers

FDA Approves Lanreotide Injection for Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved lanreotide (Somatuline Depot Injection) for the treatment of patients with unresectable, well or moderately differentiated, locally advanced or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Lanreotide was previously approved for...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Germline SUFU Mutations Cause Gorlin Syndrome and Increase Risk for Childhood Medulloblastoma

In a study to identify causative mutations in patients with Gorlin syndrome without PTCH1 mutations, Smith et al found that germline mutations in SUFU were associated with Gorlin syndrome and with increased likelihood of Gorlin syndrome–associated childhood medulloblastoma. The study is...

cns cancers

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors May Work in Brain Cancers

New evidence that immune checkpoint inhibitors may work in glioblastoma and brain metastases was presented today at the ESMO Symposium on Immuno-Oncology 2014 in Geneva (Abstract 1O). The novel research shows that brain metastases of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, providing an immunoactive...

lung cancer
cns cancers

Molecular Tumor Markers Could Reveal New Therapeutic Targets for Lung Cancer Treatment

Analysis of 607 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tumors and neuroendocrine tumors identified common molecular markers among both groups that could reveal new therapeutic targets for patients with similar types of lung cancer, according to research presented at the 2014 Chicago Multidisciplinary...

cns cancers

FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to DNX-2401 for Malignant Glioma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to DNAtrix’s DNX-2401, a conditionally-replicative oncolytic adenovirus for malignant glioma. Glioma is the most common form of primary brain cancer, the treatment of which remains a significant unmet medical...

cns cancers
pancreatic cancer

ESMO 2014: Everolimus Improves Overall Survival in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

In a phase III trial, treatment with everolimus (Afinitor) resulted in a median overall survival of over 3 and a half years in patients with well-differentiated and progressive pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, representing what the study authors called a "clinically important" although not...

cns cancers
lung cancer
gynecologic cancer

Aldoxorubicin Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designations for Glioblastoma, Small Cell Lung Cancer, and Ovarian Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designations to aldoxorubicin in three indications: glioblastoma multiforme, small cell lung cancer, and ovarian cancer. Aldoxorubicin combines doxorubicin with a novel single-molecule linker that binds directly and...

cns cancers

FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to Bivalent Vaccine for Neuroblastoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to MabVax Therapeutics’ vaccine for the treatment of relapsed or recurrent high-risk neuroblastoma in remission or with limited residual disease after best available treatment. The bivalent vaccine is intended to...

cns cancers

Pilot Study Evaluates Concurrent Use of Sunitinib and Radiation Therapy in Recurrent High-Grade Glioma

The combination of continuous daily-dosed sunitinib (Sutent) and hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy produced acceptable toxicity and “encouraging” 6-month progression-free survival in previously irradiated patients with recurrent high-grade glioma, according to the results...

cns cancers

FDA Grants Priority Review to Lanreotide Injection for Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and granted priority review to Ipsen’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the somatostatin analog lanreotide (Somatuline Depot) 120 mg injection in the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The FDA...

cns cancers

No Benefit of Adding Cilengitide in Glioblastoma With Methylated MGMT Promoter

In the phase III CENTRIC EORTC 26071-22072 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Stupp et al found that adding the selective αvβ3 and αvβ5 integrin inhibitor cilengitide to standard temozolomide chemoradiotherapy produced no survival benefit in newly diagnosed glioblastoma...

cns cancers

Early Study Identifies Tumor-Suppressor Gene, Potential Therapy for Medulloblastoma

An international, multi-institutional research group led by scientists at the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center has identified a novel molecular pathway that causes an aggressive form of medulloblastoma, The study, reported by He et al ...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Study Detects New ALK Mutations at Neuroblastoma Relapse

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schleiermacher et al found ALK mutations at relapse of neuroblastoma that were not present at diagnosis. They also found that subclonal mutations may be present at diagnosis with clonal expansion observed at relapse. The study involved...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Successful Vemurafenib Treatment of Progressive BRAF V600E–Mutated Anaplastic Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma

The BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) is approved for treatment of BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma. There are reports indicating that vemurafenib may be active in the treatment of intracranial neoplasms with BRAF mutations. As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al from...

cns cancers

Improvements in Overall Survival in Trilateral Retinoblastoma Due to Improved Chemotherapy and Earlier Detection

In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, de Jong et al found a dramatic improvement in overall survival among children with trilateral retinoblastoma since 1995, reflecting increased use of conventional and high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue in pineal and...

cns cancers

Investigational Compound ABT-414 Receives Orphan Drug Designation for Glioblastoma Multiforme

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to AbbVie’s investigational compound ABT-414, which is being evaluated for safety and efficacy in patients with glioblastoma multiforme. ABT-414 is an investigational anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor)...

cns cancers

Dutch Phase II Study Supports Phase III Evaluation of Bevacizumab Plus Lomustine, but Not Bevacizumab Alone, in Recurrent Glioblastoma

Bevacizumab (Avastin) is frequently used in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, although it is unclear whether responses observed with such treatment result in improved overall survival. In the phase II Dutch BELOB study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Taal et al found that overall survival...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Two Common Gene Variants Associated With Longer Telomere Length May Increase the Risk of Glioma

Two common gene variants that lead to longer telomere length may increase the risk of glioma, according to the results of a study presented by Walsh et al in Nature Genetics. This finding suggests that telomere length may prove to be a promising epidemiologic risk factor for cancer. It is well...

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