New Treatment in Development for Glioblastoma: Hopes for Sen. John McCain
Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
We wish all patients diagnosed with Glioblastoma to be able to benefit from the advancements in Sciences reported, below
- John McCain Was Diagnosed With A Glioblastoma, Among The Deadliest Of Cancers
- The Capital City Contemplates The Possibility Of A Washington Without John McCain
- Cognoscenti: ‘A Bridge To A Not-So-Distant Past’: An Appreciation Of John McCain
- Special Series: This Moment In Cancer
- The Gift Of Life Comes Full Circle: Sperm Donor Fighting Brain Cancer Meets Biological Daughters
SOURCE
Glioblastoma Is A Grim Diagnosis, But There Are Some Signs Of Hope
Karen Weintraub, July 20, 2017 Updated July 21, 2017 5:33 PM
Advancements in Crossing The Blood-Brain Barrier
Paula Hammond, of MIT’s Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research: “We believe we have a handle on a good stealth mechanism. Now, we’re looking at enhanced uptake,” she said. “We have to begin to think a little bit about how to get nature on our side on this one.”
At the Brigham, researchers are trying another approach to getting across the blood-brain-barrier: prying open holes in its armor with beams of ultrasound. Although normally used to take cool pictures during pregnancy, multiple beams of ultrasound aimed at the same area can make blood vessels of the brain “leakier,” according to research at the Brigham.
Advancement in Stem Cells against Tumors
There’s also a possibility that stem cells may be useful for tracking down and killing tumor cells. Khalid Shah, director for the Center for Stem Cell Therapeutics and Imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has been experimenting with delivering engineered stem cells directly to tumor sites after surgery.
William Curry at Mass. General, is that the longer a patient with glioblastoma can hang on, the better their chances of getting one of these new treatments.
“The longer you stay alive and the longer you maintain good neurological function, the more eligible you one may be to see the benefits and the fruits of a lot of the research that is really accelerating right now,” he said.
SOURCE
Glioblastoma Is A Grim Diagnosis, But There Are Some Signs Of Hope
Senator McCain and his medical advisers are doubtless aware of the potential benefit of imetelstat in the treatment of glioblastoma. Let’s hope they do the right thing.
…This pre-clinical study supports the feasibility of testing imetelstat in the treatment of GBM patients, alone or in combination with standard therapies….
…We predict an even greater therapeutic efficacy and perhaps a durable response when imetelstat is combined with radiation and temozolomide, which currently provide only a partial response. Taken together, the in vitro and in vivo data is encouraging for pursuing testing of imetelstat in GBM patients.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883447/
Senator John McCain deserves a medical miracle — Administer Imetelstat (www.geron.com) intracranially. Side-effects would be substantially minimized by this route. This is the only drug in clinical trials that can block glioblastoma stem cells.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883447/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17456036
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18369964