News in Research on Glioblastoma in the Sixth Two-Months 2022
This is the eighteenth article of the project which aims to collect periodically (every two months) the news of research on possible treatments for glioblastoma multiforme.
Below are the news that we deemed most significant. As with the previous articles in the series, each news item will be preceded by the original title with a link to the source and followed by a brief comment. The criterion with which news items are chosen is always to generally include only news relating to research in the clinical phase, unless the potential of research for the treatment of glioblastoma is truly remarkable.
Concurrent chemoradiation and Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields, 200 kHz) for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: patterns of progression in a single institution pilot study
The Tumor Treating Fields or Optune device is now the standard of care in the United States for glioblastoma. This new clinical trial demonstrates that early use of the Optune device, at the same time as the start of radiotherapy instead of the usual 4-6 weeks later, allows for a progression-free survival of 9.3 months, i.e., add 2, 5 months to progression-free survival.
CTIM-27. AUTOLOGOUS TUMOR LYSATE-LOADED DENDRITIC CELL VACCINATION IMPROVES SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED AND RECURRENT GLIOBLASTOMA: SURVIVAL RESULTS FROM A PHASE 3 TRIAL
This issue could not miss the article reporting the results of the phase 3 clinical trial relating to DCVax-L which achieved all the objectives extending survival significantly for both nGBM patients and for rGBM patients compared to SOC ( Standards of Care). 331 patients have been enrolled in the clinical trial. Patients with nGBM (232) achieved a median OS of 19.3 months from initiation of therapy (22.4 months from surgery) compared with 16.5 months of the control group. Survival at 48 months was 15.7% versus 9.9% and at 60 months it was 13% versus 5.7%. For patients with rGBM (64), median OS was 13.2 months from recurrence compared with 7.8 months for the control group. Survival 24 months after recurrence was 20.7% versus 9.6% and 30 months after recurrence was 11.1% versus 5.1%. In nGBM patients with methylated MGMT (90), median survival was 30.2 from the start of treatment (33 months from surgery) compared with 21.3 months in the control group (SOC). I hope soon to be able to give you some news on the possibility of trying this therapy which, however, requires having a few grams of fresh tumor necessary to develop the vaccine.
Association of Autologous Tumor Lysate-Loaded Dendritic Cell Vaccination With Extension of Survival Among Patients With Newly Diagnosed and Recurrent Glioblastoma
This is the famous article published in JAMA Oncology on the DCVax-L. JAMA Oncology is a journal with an impact factor of 33. Publishing in a journal with an impact factor of 10 is already considered excellent due to the rigorous controls that are carried out on the research by the reviewers. It is the first treatment to pass phase 3 in 17 years for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (nGBM) and the first in 27 years for patients with recurrence (rGBM).
POSITIVE UPDATED INTERIM RESULTS FROM
NOX-A12 GLORIA PHASE 1/2 IN BRAIN CANCER PRESENTED AT THE SOCIETY FOR NEURO-ONCOLOGY 2022 ANNUAL MEETING
These are preliminary results given that the study is still ongoing but they are very encouraging because the study focuses on patients who have glioblastoma with non-methylated MGMT. The approach is novel because it targets the tumor microenvironment. 90% of patients had a reduction in tumor size. Median survival has not yet been reached as patients are still alive after a mean follow-up of 7.9 months. Therapy combines the drug NOX-A12 with radiation therapy and bevacizumab.
CTIM-26. PHASE II TRIAL OF SURVAXM PLUS TEMOZOLOMIDE FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED GLIOBLASTOMA
These are impressive results for newly diagnosed GBM with a “stock” vaccine that is not tailored to each patient as this vaccine targets Survivin, which is overexpressed in over 95% of GBM patients. 63 patients (38 males), mean age, 60 years were treated at 5 sites. SurVaxM was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events. Both groups showed a clinical benefit with PFS of 11.4 months for the whole group, 7.0 months for the unmethylated group, and 17.9 months for the methylated group. OS of 25.9 months for the whole group, 16.5 months for the unmethylated group, and 41 for the methylated group.
Virtual Trials: Causally-validated treatment effects efficiently learned from an observational cancer registry
This is an article published in “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine” and it demonstrates that the virtual trial approach which is what we would like to do with Gliobalstoma Navigator is capable of predicting the results of 6 out of 7 randomized clinical trials. This article used data from the virtual trial database which did not include information on the characteristics of glioblastomas. We can therefore expect even better results from Glioblastoma Navigator which will be presented and made operational in the next few days.
So, in summary, Optune device, vaccines and drug combination, in this issue on research news. A heartfelt good luck and a sincere wish for a Happy 2023 to all those who are fighting against glioblastoma and their loved ones!
