An experimental gene therapy drug doubled the survival rate
for Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that kills two-thirds of
patients within five years, researchers reported at a cancer conference.
Typically, Glioblastoma patients whose cancer comes back are
expected to survive for weeks or months. Researchers reported the
results of a Phase 2 clinical trial at the European Cancer Congress 2015
as Phase 3 of the trial begins.
The drug, VB-111, works by blocking the cancer's ability to
grow new blood vessels. A substance secreted by tumors activates the
drug.
"This drug outsmarts the cancer," said Dr. Andrew Brenner, a
researcher in the Cancer Therapy and Research Center at the University
of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, in a press release. "These
numbers compare favorably to any current benchmark in recurrent Glioblastoma and may change the treatment paradigm for these patients."
Researchers recruited 46 patients with recurrent Glioblastoma for the
multicenter study. All 46 patients received VB-111 at the outset of the
trial. When their cancer progressed, the researchers treated 23 with
VB-111 and the standard chemotherapy treatment Avastin, while 22
received Avastin alone.Patients who received VB-111 continuously survived an average of 15
months, compared with patients treated only with Avastin surviving for
about 8 months. The researchers noted that VB-111 also induced an immune
system response, as 25 of the patients who received the drug developed a
fever. Feverish patients saw an increased survival rate of about 16
months, compared to those without a fever who survived about 8.5 months.
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