Health Discoveries in Brain Tumors
Brain cancer vaccine may add to survival time
December 6, 2010
A study on a new vaccine for the brain cancer known as glioblastoma (GBM) showed survival time is extended when the drug is given to newly-diagnosed patients.
Researchers from the Duke University Medical Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center conducted the study that included 35 patients who underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Half the participants also received injections of the vaccine one month after completing radiation.
According to a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the median survival time for those receiving the vaccine was 26 months, compared to 15 months for the group that did not receive the vaccine. The length of progression-free survival also was greater in the vaccine group – more than 14 months compared to about six months for those who did not receive the vaccine.
Dr. Darell D. Bigner, director of Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, said the vaccine eliminated cancer cells carrying the aggressive cancer gene EGFRvIII in all but one study participant.
Within the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the cancer program at Glen Cove Hospital has earned a three-year accreditation with commendation by the national Commission on Cancer, which is part of the American College of Surgeons.
Researchers from the Duke University Medical Center and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center conducted the study that included 35 patients who underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Half the participants also received injections of the vaccine one month after completing radiation.
According to a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the median survival time for those receiving the vaccine was 26 months, compared to 15 months for the group that did not receive the vaccine. The length of progression-free survival also was greater in the vaccine group – more than 14 months compared to about six months for those who did not receive the vaccine.
Dr. Darell D. Bigner, director of Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, said the vaccine eliminated cancer cells carrying the aggressive cancer gene EGFRvIII in all but one study participant.
Within the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the cancer program at Glen Cove Hospital has earned a three-year accreditation with commendation by the national Commission on Cancer, which is part of the American College of Surgeons.