NYU to Continue Clinical Testing of Brain Cancer Vaccine

NYU Medical Center has recently begun the second phase of a clinical trial that evaluates a brain cancer vaccine called DCVax-Brain in newly diagnosed patients with a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.

Glioblastoma multiforme accounts for 52% of all primary brain tumor cases, according to Wikipedia.org, and is the most common and deadly form of brain cancer. The vaccine, DCVax-Brain will use the proteins found in a patient's tumors and is designed to specifically attack the cancer cells that contains the proteins. The study hopes to evaluate the addition of DCVax-Brain after the standard treatments for glioblastoma multiforme such as surgery and chemotherapy. This study is only a continuation of an earlier trial of the vaccine conducted by NYU.

The brain cancer vaccine is intended as an immunotherapy that readies the patient's immune system to kill the proteins found in the cancer cells. The standard therapy when a patient is suffering from glioblastoma multiforme or other forms of brain cancer is usually surgery or chemotherapy, however, even with these two treatments, patients suffering from glioblastoma multiforme only survives about 15 months since even if only a few tumor cells are left, these tumors are aggressive and fast growing. Dr. Patrick J. Kelly, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU school of Medicine says that treating brain cancer is frustrating since brain tumors don't metastasize but recur locally so they couldn't cure it.

The vaccine is made from the tumors and immune cells of the patient and is done by removing the tumor in the patient's brain during surgery. The tumors will then be broken up to prepare the vaccine and then the patient's most powerful immune cell, the dendritic cell will be purified and combined with the tumor cell to form the vaccine. The Dendritic cell is used so that it will be able to teach the immune system of the patient to recognize and destroy the cancer cells.

According to NYU, patients between 18 to 65 years old who are recently diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme will join the trial and will be separated into two groups; those who receive standard therapy (surgery and chemotherapy), and those who will undergo standard therapy plus the vaccine.

Dr. Kelly stated that they are excited about the promise of the vaccine and that a cancer vaccine such as DCVax-Brain may make a difference in extending and maintaining a good quality life of brain tumor patients.

SOURCE:

New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine, "Clinical trial evaluating brain cancer vaccine is underway". Bio-medicine.org