[03 November 2020] The IBTA’s monthly e-News has been released and has emailed to all subscribers. To sign up to receive your copy, click here.
You can also read the IBTA e-News December 2020 edition in full online here.
Some of the highlights from this month’s round-up:
- The results from the IBTA’s second international survey to identify how brain tumour patient and caregiver organisations have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have now been published in the journal Neuro-Oncology Advances. Seventy-seven brain tumour patient and caregiver organisations from 22 countries completed the 37-question online survey. The paper is available as open source here: “The Brain Tumour Not-for-Profit and Charity Experience of COVID-19: Reacting and Adjusting to an Unprecedented Global Pandemic in the 21st Century” ((https://doi.org/10.1093/noajnl/vdaa166).
- An international multidisciplinary team of experts from ESMO (European Society for Medical Oncology) and EANO (European Association of Neuro-Oncology) has compiled guidelines and international standards for the treatment of the many serious complications of primary and secondary brain tumours, and these have been published in the journal Annals of Oncology.
- Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has announced that the phase 3 trial ‘CheckMate -548’, evaluating Opdivo (nivolumab) in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients whose tumours carry a methylated MGMT promoter (a genetic status making the tumour more vulnerable to certain chemotherapies) will not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) in patients with no corticosteroid use at baseline as well as in the overall randomized population of patients in the trial.
- A paper published in the journal World Neurosurgery, has compiled and evaluated existing clinical trial data and case studies which examine the effectiveness of giving chemotherapy before surgery (termed “neoadjuvant therapy”) in “unresectable” gliomas.
- Novocure has announced that the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) has added Optune (a Tumor Treating Fields device) in combination with temozolomide to the List of Remedies and Equipment (MiGeL) for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, effective from April 1, 2021.
- According to findings published in the Journal of Neurosurgery, a multicentre study has found that using MRI scans done periodically during surgery (termed ‘intraoperative MRI’ or iMRi) leads to more thorough tumour removal, which is linked to longer survival in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma patients, compared to conventional surgical methods.
- A new study published in Cancer Cell has revealed how a poorly understood gene plays a significant role in the metastasis (spread) of breast cancer to the brain. After comparing the DNA of breast cancer cells with those that had spread to the brain, researchers found that the activity of a gene named YTHDF3 was much higher in the brain metastases.
- The Ivy Brain Tumor Center in Phoenix, Arizona, US has announced the opening of a Phase 0 glioblastoma clinical trial of an investigational ‘PARP inhibitor’ drug called pamiparib (developed by BeiGene), which inhibits cancer cells’ ability to repair their own DNA. Unlike conventional clinical trials, Phase 0 trials are designed to bridge the gap between initial drug testing and definitive efficacy studies.
Our monthly e-News highlights items of interest to our international brain tumour community and is emailed to approximately 6,000 recipients. It gives a round-up of the latest research and treatment developments, news about brain tumour patient organisations around the world, and key forthcoming neuro-oncology scientific and patient conferences. You can sign up to receive the e-News every month by registering here.
To see an archive of existing e-News issues, click here.
