Brain Cancer

Immunotherapy's promise as well as its challenges as a treatment for patients with brain cancer was the focus of a plenary session held November 15 at the Society of Neuro-Oncology's (SNO) 2014 Annual Meeting in Miami Beach.

The oncolytic virus Delta-24-RGD can infect, replicate, and kill glioma cells in patients, according to phase I research presented at the 2014 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting in Miami.

John F de Groot, MD, nuro-oncologist, MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the efficacy of the novel c-MET inhibitor altiratinib in glioblastoma.

Roger Stupp, MD, Professor of Oncology, University of Zürich; Chairman, Department of Oncology and Cancer Center, University of Zürich Hospital, Zürich, Switzerland, discusses the interim analysis of the EF-14 trial, which compared NovoTTF-100A together with temozolomide versus temozolomide alone in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Use of the NovoTTF system along with adjuvant temozolomide led to longer progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with glioblastoma.

Nicholas Butowski, MD, associate professor, University of California, San Francisco, neuro-oncologist, UCSF Medical Center, discusses a phase I/II study of dianhydrogalacitol in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

The vaccine rindopepimut appears to help PFS and OS in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor variant III mutation in glioblastoma-a patient group with traditionally poor outcomes.

Martin J. van den Bent, MD, professor, Neuro-Oncology, Erasmus MC-Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, discusses the BELOB trial, which examined bevacizumab versus bevacizumab plus lomustine versus lomustine single agent in recurrent glioblastoma.

David Reardon, MD, clinical director, Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, president, Society for Neuro-Oncology, discusses the ReACT study, which examined the rindopepimut vaccine (CDX-110) plus bevacizumab in patients with relapsed glioblastoma.

The vaccine rindopepimut plus bevacizumab induced tumor regression in a subset of patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

The combination of bevacizumab and lomustine showed superior efficacy compared with either agent alone in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, warranting further study.

Roeland GW Verhaak, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Division of Quantitative Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a study that examined the comprehensive and integrative genomic characterization of diffuse lower grade gliomas.

The combination of radiation therapy with procarbazine, CCNU, and vincristine prolonged OS and PFS compared with radiation therapy alone in grade 2 glioma.

Steven A. Toms, MD, director, neurosurgery, Geisinger Health System, discusses how targeting MEK can be an effective treatment strategy for CNS metastasis.

Immunotherapy is rapidly emerging as a very attractive and novel therapeutic approach for cancer, including for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults.

A wearable device that uses electric fields to disrupt the activity of cancer cells has demonstrated survival benefits among patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme in real-world settings, particularly among individuals treated in earlier stages of progression

In this review, the role of radiotherapy in the management of brain metastases is considered from a historical perspective, in the context of other treatment modalities, and with regard to different radiotherapy techniques.

A personalized vaccine being tested as a therapy for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) improved patient survival compared with standard treatments

Awake craniotomies are traditionally reserved for, but not limited to, tumors involving the primary motor and speech areas

Since the mid-1970s, Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, has pursued an interest in the role that tumor microenvironment plays in drug delivery and efficacy.

Andrew T. Parsa, MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, describes the administration of the prophage G-200 for patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Bruce Roth, MD, from the Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, discusses the treatment of several cancers with bevacizumab.

Glenn J. Lesser, MD, Professor, Hematology & Oncology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest Baptist Health, discusses armodafinil for brain radiation-induced fatigue.

Andrew T. Parsa MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, describes the design of a trial analyzing prophage G-200 vaccine for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Glenn J. Lesser, MD, discusses the background of the RTOG 0424 study, which analyzed temozolomide in high-risk low-grade gliomas.

Mark R. Gilbert, MD, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, discusses findings from the RTOG 0825 phase III trial evaluating bevacizumab in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Adding bevacizumab to a standard treatment regimen for glioblastoma consisting of chemoradiation with temozolomide in newly diagnosed patients does not improve OS and did not significantly improve PFS.