Here’s a snippet from a recent
University of California Irvine Medical Center press release which says that “UC
Irvine doctors are enrolling patients with the deadly brain tumor glioblastoma
multiforme (GBM) in a clinical trial of a vaccine that may prevent the cancer’s
return or spread after surgery.”
What caught my eye was the
following quote from Dr. Daniela Bota, neuro-oncologist and co-director of UC
Irvine’s Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program: “Our goal is to train the immune
system to recognize and attack the cancer.” Dr. Bota will lead the Phase II
trial at UC Irvine of DCVax, which was associated with increased survival in a
previous study.
That’s important because,
according to Dr. Bota, “The standard of care prolongs survival, but it does not
fully destroy the cancer.” The article reports that Bota believes the vaccine
can help eliminate remaining tumor cells and further extend patients’ lives.
Only 10 percent of the 12,000 to 14,000 people annually found to have
glioblastoma multiforme survive five years.
Five years? I think I know
college students that are still sophomores after five years. So to my way of
thinking, five years seems awfully short.
I read about GBM victims on
the Inspire website all the time and
it never seems like good news. You can read the same postings I do at: http://www.inspire.com/groups/american-brain-tumor-association/?ref=as&asat=52643532
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The study is sponsored by Tocagen
Inc. and, as of June, it seems like the
study was still recruiting participants. If you’re interested, see http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01156584?term=tocagen&rank=2
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