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cns cancers

Early-Phase Trial of Carboxyamidotriazole Orotate and Temozolomide in Glioblastoma

In a phase Ib trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Omuro et al found evidence of activity of carboxyamidotriazole orotate plus temozolomide in patients with recurrent anaplastic gliomas or glioblastoma and previously untreated glioblastoma. Carboxyamidotriazole orotate is an...

cns cancers
skin cancer
immunotherapy

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab or Nivolumab Alone in Melanoma Brain Metastases

In an Australian phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Long et al found that the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab alone showed intracranial activity in patients with melanoma brain metastases. Study Details In the open-label trial, 76 evaluable...

cns cancers

Genomic Copy Number Aberrations and Extremely Poor Survival in High-Risk Neuroblastoma

In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Depuydt et al identified two genomic copy number aberrations associated with risk of extremely poor survival in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Study Details The international collaborative study included normalized...

cns cancers
immunotherapy

Monoclonal Antibody Treatment in Newly Diagnosed Pediatric High-Grade Glioma

In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Grill et al found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to radiotherapy plus temozolomide (RT + TMZ) did not improve event-free survival in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed high-grade glioma. Study Details In the...

cns cancers

Does Treatment With Tumor-Treating Fields Plus Temozolomide Influence Quality of Life in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma?

A detailed quality-of-life analysis of the phase III EF-14 trial of tumor-treating fields (Optune) in combination with temozolomide for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma was published by Taphoorn et al in JAMA Oncology. This secondary endpoint analysis demonstrated that the...

cns cancers

Addition of Tumor-Treating Fields to Maintenance Temozolomide in Glioblastoma

Final results of a phase III trial reported by Stupp and colleagues in JAMA indicate that adding antimitotic treatment with tumor-treating fields to maintenance temozolomide is associated with improved progression-free and overall survival in patients with previously treated glioblastoma. The...

cns cancers

FDA Grants Bevacizumab Full Approval in Recurrent Glioblastoma

On December 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval of bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of adults with recurrent glioblastoma that has progressed following prior therapy. Bevacizumab was previously granted provisional approval in this setting under the FDA's ...

cns cancers

Phase III Trial of Combination Therapy for Progressive Glioblastoma

In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Wick et al found that adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to lomustine at first disease progression did not improve overall survival in patients with progressive glioblastoma. Study Details In the trial, 437 patients with disease...

cns cancers

AACR-NCI-EORTC: Gene Therapy Shows Early Efficacy Against Recurrent Brain Cancer

More than a quarter of patients with recurrent high-grade glioma treated with the retroviral vector Toca 511 (vocimagene amiretrorepvec) combined with Toca FC (an extended-release formulation of fluorocytosine, a prodrug of fluorouracil [5-FU]) were alive more than 3 years after...

cns cancers
survivorship

Predicting Risk of Subsequent CNS Tumors in Survivors of Childhood Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al have developed a model for predicting risk of subsequent central nervous system (CNS) tumors in survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details In the study, matched childhood cancer survivors with (n = 82) and without (n = 228) subsequent...

cns cancers
gynecologic cancer
kidney cancer
lung cancer
gastroesophageal cancer

FDA Approves First Biosimilar for the Treatment of Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved bevacizumab-awwb (Mvasi) as a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Bevacizumab-awwb is the first biosimilar approved in the U.S. for the treatment of cancer. “Bringing new biosimilars to...

cns cancers

Zika Virus Shows Oncolytic Activity Against Glioblastoma Stem Cells in Preclinical Trial

Although Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it someday may prove to be an effective treatment for glioblastoma. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine showed that...

cns cancers

Addition of EGFR-Targeting Vaccine to Temozolomide in EGFRvIII-Expressing Glioblastoma

The phase III ACT IV study has shown no survival benefit of adding rindopepimut, a vaccine targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) deletion mutation EGFRvIII, to temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma. These findings were reported by Weller et al...

cns cancers

Adjuvant Temozolomide in 1p/19q Non-Codeleted Anaplastic Glioma

Interim results of the phase III CATNON trial (EORTC study 26053-22054) indicate a survival benefit of adjuvant temozolomide in 1p/19q non-codeleted anaplastic glioma. These findings were reported in The Lancet by van den Bent et al. Study Details In the open-label 2 x 2 factorial trial, 745...

cns cancers
survivorship

Study Maps Mutation That May Drive Meningioma Development in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Neuroscientists may have uncovered the genetic basis for why many long-term survivors of childhood cancer develop meningiomas, the most common adult brain tumor, decades after their treatment with cranial radiation. The findings, published by Agnihotri et al in Nature Communications, show that...

cns cancers

Effect of BRAF V600E Mutation on Outcome in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas

An analysis reported by Lassaletta et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that BRAF V600E mutation is associated with a poor outcome in pediatric low-grade gliomas treated with standard adjuvant therapy. Study Details The study involved patients with low-grade gliomas with long-term...

cns cancers

Analysis Reveals Genomic Alterations, Oncogenes Driving Medulloblastoma Subtypes

The most comprehensive analysis yet of medulloblastoma has identified genomic changes responsible for more than 75% of the brain tumors, including two new suspected cancer genes that were found exclusively in the least understood disease subgroups. The study from an international research...

cns cancers

Single-Center Trial of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Completely Resected Brain Metastases

In a U.S. single-institution study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Mahajan et al found that stereotactic radiosurgery to the surgical cavity reduced local recurrence vs observation in patients with completely resected brain metastases. Study Details In the trial, 128 evaluable patients at MD...

cns cancers

Stereotactic Radiosurgery vs Whole-Brain Radiotherapy for Resected Metastatic Brain Disease

In the phase III NCCTG N107C/CEC.3 trial, stereotactic radiosurgery to the surgical cavity reduced cognitive deterioration and was associated with similar overall survival vs whole-brain radiotherapy in patients with resected brain metastasis. These results were reported by Brown et al in The...

cns cancers
issues in oncology

Study Demonstrates Potential for Artificial Intelligence and Whole-Genome Sequencing to Scale Access to Precision Medicine

In a study published by Wrzeszczynski et al in Neurology: Genetics, researchers at the New York Genome Center (NYGC), The Rockefeller University, and IBM illustrated the potential of IBM Watson for Genomics to analyze complex genomic data from state-of-the-art sequencing of whole genomes. The study ...

cns cancers

FDA Approves Aminolevulinic Acid Hydrochloride as an Optical Imaging Agent Indicated in Gliomas

On June 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, known as ALA HCl (Gleolan), as an optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization [WHO] Grades III or IV) for preoperative imaging, as an adjunct for the...

cns cancers

Dinutuximab vs Temsirolimus in Combination Therapy for Children With Refractory or Relapsed Neuroblastoma

A randomized phase II trial (Children’s Oncology Group [COG] ANBL1221) has resulted in the selection of dinutuximab (Unituxin) plus irinotecan/temozolomide as a regimen to be further evaluated in the treatment of pediatric patients with refractory or relapsed neuroblastoma. Study results were ...

cns cancers

Eric Jonasch, MD, on Von-Hippel Lindau Disease: Pazopanib Trial

Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the largest prospective VHL disease-specific therapeutic trial performed to date, and the data that show pazopanib resulted in significant and sustained disease control for the majority of patients enrolled on the study. (Abstract 4516)

cns cancers

Revisions to the International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria

A consensus statement from a National Cancer Institute–sponsored clinical trials planning meeting, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Park et al, presents revisions to the International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria (INRC) for assessing treatment response in patients with...

cns cancers

AANS 2017: Seizure Outcome After Surgical Resection of Insular Glioma

Winner of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award sponsored by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Doris Du Wang, MD, PhD, a resident in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), presented her research on seizure outcome after surgical resection of insular...

cns cancers

AANS 2017: Genetic Underpinnings of Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma/Astrocytoma

Winner of the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award Anthony C. Wang, MD, a neurosurgeon at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Mattel Children’s Hospital and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, presented his research findings on desmoplastic infantile...

cns cancers

Study Finds Vaccine-Chemotherapy Combination Prolongs Overall Survival in Glioblastoma

Despite highly aggressive therapy that includes maximal tumor resection, high-dose radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy, the prognosis for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma is dismal, with a median survival of less than 15 months, prompting researchers to study novel approaches to...

cns cancers

Potential Therapeutic Target for Malignant Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors Identified in Preclinical Study

Using state-of-the-art gene-editing technology, scientists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago have discovered a promising target to treat atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, a highly aggressive and therapy-resistant brain tumor that mostly occurs in infants. They found...

cns cancers

AACR 2017: Addition of TTFields to Temozolomide Treatment Improves Survival for Patients With Glioblastoma

Patients with glioblastoma who wore a medical device that delivers alternating electrical fields in addition to being treated with the chemotherapeutic temozolomide had significantly improved median overall survival compared with those treated with temozolomide only, according to final results from ...

cns cancers

Adding Temozolomide to Short-Course Radiotherapy in Older Patients With Glioblastoma

In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Perry et al found that adding temozolomide to short-course radiotherapy improved overall survival in patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The survival advantage was largest among patients with methylated ...

cns cancers

Busulfan and Melphalan vs Carboplatin, Etoposide, and Melphalan in High-Risk Neuroblastoma

In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ladenstein et al found that high-dose chemotherapy with busulfan and melphalan vs carboplatin, etoposide, and melphalan was associated with an improved event-free survival in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma and adequate disease response to ...

cns cancers

Key Gene Controlling Tumor Growth in Gliomas Pinpointed

Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a stem cell–regulating gene that affects tumor growth in patients with brain cancer and can strongly influence survival rates of patients. The findings, published by Edwards et al in Nature Scientific Reports, could move physicians closer to their...

cns cancers

Study Finds No Evidence of Cytomegalovirus in Glioblastoma and Other High-Grade Gliomas

In a rigorous study of tumor tissue collected from 125 patients with aggressive brain cancers, researchers at Johns Hopkins said they have found no evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and concluded that a link between the two diseases, as claimed by earlier reports, likely does not exist. A ...

cns cancers

Holger N. Lode, MD: Neuroblastoma Survival Update (German Language Version)

Holger N. Lode, MD, of the University of Greifswald, discusses in German the survival of neuroblastoma patients treated with long-term infusion of the anti-GD2 antibody ch14.18/CHO and killer-cell Ig-like receptor genotypes and Fc-receptor polymorphisms. (Abstract 111)

cns cancers

Holger N. Lode, MD: Neuroblastoma Survival Update

Holger N. Lode, MD, of the University of Greifswald, discusses the survival of neuroblastoma patients treated with long-term infusion of the anti-GD2 antibody ch14.18/CHO and killer-cell Ig-like receptor genotypes and Fc-receptor polymorphisms. (Abstract 111)

cns cancers
sarcoma

Combination of Alisertib and HSV1716 Shows Antitumor Activity in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor and Neuroblastoma Models

Two investigational agents, the aurora A kinase inhibitor alisertib and a virus derived from HSV-1 (HSV1716), have shown antitumor efficacy in early clinical trials as monotherapies. A new study published by Currier et al in Oncotarget, however, demonstrates that the combined usage...

cns cancers

New Molecular-Based Prognostic Model for Glioblastoma in Temozolomide Era

In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Bell et al derived a molecular-based recursive partitioning analysis model for overall survival in glioblastoma multiforme in the temozolomide era with the aim of refining existing clinically based models. Study Details The study involved analysis of 452...

cns cancers

Precision Medicine Analysis of 203 Pediatric Brain Tumors May Advance Diagnosis and Treatment

Precision medicine has advanced to the point where it can now impact the care of a majority of children with brain tumors, a new study by investigators at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center suggests. In the largest clinical study to date of genetic abnormalities in...

cns cancers

Case Report of Regression of Glioblastoma After Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy

In a brief report in The New England Journal of Medicine, Brown et al described regression of glioblastoma after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. A 50-year-old patient with recurrent multifocal glioblastoma after tumor resection, radiation therapy, and temozolomide was treated with...

cns cancers

ASCO Endorses ASTRO Guideline on Radiation Therapy for Glioblastoma

As reported by Erik P. Sulman, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has endorsed the 2016 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) evidence-based guideline on radiation therapy for glioblastoma. The endorsement was based on review of ...

cns cancers
gastrointestinal cancer

EORTC-NCI-AACR 2016: ‘Remarkable Antitumor Activity’ in Phase I Studies of PDGFRα and KIT Mutation Inhibitors

Two studies at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, Germany focused on the inhibition of mutations in the KIT and PDGFRα oncogenes. These genes provide instructions for making proteins that are part of a family of proteins called receptor...

cns cancers

Association of Extent of Surgeon-Assessed Resection on Outcome in High-Risk Neuroblastoma

In an analysis of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma from the Children’s Oncology Group A3973 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, von Allmen et al found that surgeon-assessed resection of at least 90% was associated with improved event-free survival and a reduced cumulative ...

cns cancers

Activation of WNT5A May Drive Glioblastoma Stem Cell Differentiation and Invasive Growth

Glioblastoma multiforme remains the most common and highly lethal brain cancer, known for its tendency to recur. Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a pathway by which cancer cells aggressively spread and grow in the brain, opening up new possibilities...

cns cancers

‘Exceptional Response’ to First-Line Vismodegib Reported in Patient With Unresectable/Multifocal Adult Medulloblastoma

In a case report in Cancer Biology & Therapy, Lou et al described an exceptional response to first-line treatment with the hedgehog inhibitor vismodegib (Erivedge) in a 51-year-old patient with a history of basal cell carcinoma who was diagnosed with an unresectable/multifocal form of adult...

cns cancers

Dutch Study Shows High Prevalence of Early Endocrine Disorders in Survivors of Childhood Brain Tumors

Clement et al found that 25% of survivors of childhood brain tumors were diagnosed with endocrine disorders over 6.6 years of follow-up, based on a Dutch nationwide study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study involved data from 718 survivors diagnosed at age ≤ 18 years with a...

cns cancers

Temozolomide vs Radiotherapy in High-Risk Low-Grade Glioma

In the phase III EORTC (European Organisation for Research and Treatment) 22033-26033 intergroup trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Baumert et al found no progression-free survival difference between temozolomide chemotherapy and radiotherapy alone in patients with high-risk low-grade glioma....

cns cancers

ASTRO 2016: Stereotactic Radiosurgery Decreases Rate of Postoperative Local Recurrence for Brain Metastases

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for cancer patients who receive the treatment for brain metastases decreases the likelihood of local recurrence, but shows no positive difference in terms of overall survival or distant brain metastases rates when compared to observation alone following surgical...

cns cancers

ASTRO 2016: Reduced Radiation Boost Volume Recommended for Average-Risk Pediatric Medulloblastoma, but Craniospinal Axis Dose Remains Unchanged

In the largest trial conducted for average-risk medulloblastoma, survival rates following reduced radiation therapy boost volumes were comparable to standard treatment volumes for the primary tumor site, but lower doses of craniospinal axis irradiation were associated with higher event rates and...

cns cancers

ASTRO 2016: Postoperative Stereotactic Radiosurgery: New Standard of Care for Patients With Resected Brain Metastases?

For patients who have cancer that has metastasized to the brain, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) results in statistically comparable survival rates, reduced cognitive decline, and better quality of life, compared to whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), according to research presented at the 58th Annual ...

cns cancers
lung cancer

Little Benefit Reported With WBRT in NSCLC Patients With Brain Metastases Unsuitable for Resection or Stereotactic Radiotherapy

In a UK-based phase III noninferiority trial (QUARTZ) reported in The Lancet, Mulvenna et al found that use of whole-brain radiotherapy in addition to optimal supportive care including dexamethasone was associated with little additional benefit in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients...

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