Monday, February 17, 2014

Glioblastoma & How A Development Program Can Prove Itself

By Robert Sutter


An oncology drug development business by the name of Celsion detailed a potential development that would play greatly into brain cancer and its various studies. Glioblastoma, in particular, would be looked into and it's obvious as to why when considering all of the specifics. After all, keep in mind that this type of cancer is oftentimes viewed as the most serious within the brain. However, it is possible that a new approach could be put in order to, ultimately, help those who have been impacted.

It seems like there is the possibility for this to happen, as an article on Pharmaceutical Business Review detailed. With a certain approach brought into effect, the goal is to help treat tumors in the brain, with glioblastoma being the primary focus. While it's clear that this ailment has been given focus by organizations such as Voices against Brain Cancer, one has to wonder what exactly this approach entails. There are a couple of elements that can help to bring this approach together and allow it to be successful.

The company will put forth experiments that will determine the effectiveness of ThermoDox in conjunction with MR guided high intensity focused ultrasound. The focus will be placed on animal models first before, if successful, being parlayed into human use. According to Dr. Nicholas Borys, ThermoDox is a "heat-activated liposomal encapsulation of doxorubicin," which would be able to provide clinical benefit. It has also been utilized for the sake of treating other types of cancer, which lends credence to the idea that it could come into play in this field as well.

A phase III HEAT study was done with ThermoDox put into effect in tandem with RFA. The study in question was done to see how well patients reacted to this combination as opposed to simply RFA on its own. When the results from the study came to the surface, it was determined that ThermoDox drastically improved PFS, not to mention overall survival rates in patients if their lesions undergo RFA for 45 minutes or so. Simply put, there are results to be seen with this approach.

I have to believe that greater results can come to the surface in due time. In my mind, the ThermoDox approach holds tremendous potential, especially when given how the approach has been utilized in the past. Liver cancer, for example, has been focused on and the same could be said about other forms of this condition as well. By this information, it appears as though there are results to be had when it comes to helping patients that have been stricken with brain cancer as well.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment