[31 October 2018] 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 October 2018 edition in full online here.
Some of the highlights from this month’s round-up:
- A first-in-human phase 0 trial of AZD1775 in first-recurrence glioblastoma has shown that the drug penetrates the blood-brain barrier and has provided evidence of clinically-relevant activity. AZD1775 targets cancer cells and makes their DNA sensitive to damage.
- A report from the UK-based charity Brain Tumour Research has revealed some of the financial costs and impacts experienced by those who are diagnosed with a brain tumour. Results from an online survey showed the average financial loss following brain tumour diagnosis is nearly £15,000 (approx. US $19,500) per household per year – more than double the average for all cancers.
- Sixty percent of survivors of childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumours do not achieve complete independence as adults, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
- NX Development Corp has announced the US commercial launch of Gleolan (aminolevulinic acid HCl), which is the first FDA-approved optical imaging agent for high-grade glioma (WHO grades III and IV).
- In experiments on animals, an international team of researchers has successfully used a Zika virus vaccine to target and destroy human glioblastoma brain cancer stem cells (those cells believed to drive overall tumour growth).
- A study published in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine has examined whether patients who have surgery for meningioma tumours are restricted in their participation in various activities has found that a third of patients are not able to return to work after surgery.
- The planned enrolment of 380 patients in Tocagen’s Toca 5 pivotal phase 3 trialhas been completed approximately three months ahead of schedule, the company has announced. Toca 5 is a randomized, multi-center clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Toca 511 & Toca FC compared to standard of care in patients undergoing resection for recurrent high grade glioma.
- It has been announced that the first glioblastoma patients have been enrolled in a phase 2 clinical trial of Kazia Therapeutics’ GDC-0084. The oral drug inhibits the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway, which appears to be distorted in over 85% of glioblastoma cases.
Our monthly e-News highlights items of interest to our international brain tumour community and is emailed to nearly 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.
