Human trials are well underway for a vaccine used for treating glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which is the deadliest form of brain cancer. The vaccine, called CDX-110, is believed to work by “training” the immune system to seek out and destroy cancer cells.
About 10,000 people are diagnosed with GBM every year, and there are often no symptoms at first. After the tumor is large enough, it may cause memory deficits and personality changes, as well as bring on seizures, headaches, and vomiting.
The vaccine is undergoing testing under the leadership of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, and Columbia University Medical Center, and it is intended for use following current conventional treatment. GBM has a high probability of recurring, and the vaccine will, scientists hope, stave off such recurrence.
“Even after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, this deadly brain cancer has a high likelihood of recurrence,” said principal investigator Dr. Theodore Schwartz. “This experimental vaccine is designed to harness the body’s immune system to keep the cancer at bay.” Early results are positive, with the vaccine extending survival from 15.2 months to 33.1 months. The current trial pairs the vaccine with chemotherapy using temozolomide.
“If this approach is validated, vaccine therapy could be added on to the existing regimen of combined chemo-radiation,” Dr. Schwartz said.
© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
|
