Treatment:
Ultrasound Device Opens Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma in Humans The first in-human trial to use low-intensity pulsed ultrasound alongside administration of intravenous microbubbles (LIPU-MB) has been shown to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier to deliver chemotherapy. Researchers found that the skull-implantable ultrasound device led to a four to six-fold increase in drug concentration (paclitaxel and carboplatin) in the human brain. Published in the Lancet Oncology, this study has prompted a subsequent phase 2 study combining LIPU-MB with albumin-bound paclitaxel plus carboplatin (NCT04528680), which is ongoing.
Milestone reached in pioneering brain cancer trial More than 140 brain cancer patients have benefitted from a landmark NHS testing and treatment programme being trialled at Addenbrooke's Hospital, using the latest innovations in genomics and cancer research. In the trial, patients with glioblastomas are offered a detailed diagnosis and tailored treatment plan, based on genomic sequencing.
Since starting, the programme has reported that they have identified potential drug targets in more than 90 per cent of patients on the trial, recommended precision therapies for 11 per cent and informed a change in diagnosis and treatment for three per cent. In addition, the time from surgery to results of genomic testing is just 20 days, a big improvement on a timeframe that has taken months in the past.
FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to ERAS-801 in EGFR-altered Glioblastoma The FDA has granted a fast-track designation to ERAS-801 for the treatment of adult patients with glioblastoma with EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene alterations. ERAS-801 is an oral, small molecule EGFR inhibitor that has exhibited substantial central nervous system penetration in preclinical animal studies. Across patient-derived glioblastoma models, ERAS-801 yielded a survival benefit in 93 per cent of models while showing statistically significant improvements in brain penetrance and prolonged survival compared with other approved EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
ERAS-801 monotherapy is being evaluated in patients with recurrent glioblastoma as part of the ongoing phase 1 THUNDERBBOLT-1 trial (NCT05222802).
Study: ChemoID platform-predicted treatments lead to longer survival for glioblastoma patients A new multi-institutional phase 3 clinical trial found that a cancer stem cell test can accurately decide more effective treatments and lead to increased survival for patients with glioblastoma (GBM). Published in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers conducted a randomised clinical trial using the ChemoID CSC assay to guide chemotherapy for recurrent GBM treatment, using current FDA approved treatments. One group used the ChemoID test report to guide the chemotherapy choice and the other relied on the physician’s best judgement. Planned interim efficacy analysis showed that the ChemoID-guided group’s median Overall Survival was 3.5 months longer than the physician-choice group’s (12.5 vs. 9 months), as well as median Progression Free Survival which was 6.6 months longer (10.1 vs. 3.5 months).
FDA Grants Orphan Drug Designation to INB-400/410 in Glioblastoma The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to the investigational autologous T-cell therapy INB-400 and the allogeneic INB-410 for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. This marks the first orphan drug designation for genetically modified gamma-delta T-cell therapy. The novel approach combines engineered, chemotherapy-resistant gamma-delta T cells with standard-of-care treatments to amplify immune signals, maximise tumour killing, and eliminate more cancer cells.