Solid tumors: latest on treaments and research pathways

By screening over 1,000 different types of molecules, scientists have managed to identify a compound that can literally blow up tumor cells belonging to the most aggressive form of brain cancer — glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The study, which was published today in Cell, was performed on mice, so the method will need a lot more testing before it's ready for human trials. But should the approach hold up, it could one day form the basis of an entirely new form of cancer treatment.

Gliomas are malignant tumors that start in the brain. Graded on a scale from 1-4, the most aggressive tumors are Grade 4 and are referred to as Glioblastoma Multiforme. In this video, Neurosurgeon Gail Rosseau, MD discusses the signs and symptoms of these tumors, as well as their diagnosis and treatment. For more information, visit http://www.northshore.org

Perhaps the most frightening malignancy is a brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine may represent the most significant advance yet discovered in glioblastoma multiforme treatment.

An experimental immune-based therapy more than doubled median survival of patients diagnosed with the most aggressive malignant brain tumor, researchers report.

During the 2012-2019 forecast period, the GBM market is expected to grow rapidly from $305 million to $583 million. Due to the poor prognosis under currently available treatments, therapies with high potency are in strong demand in the GBM market.

Tumors need blood in order to grow. Powerful radiation can kill many cancer cells. It also kills the cancer's blood vessels. How then do any surviving cancer cells regrow after radiation if they have no blood supply?

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a new biomarker that predicts whether glioblastoma – the most common form of primary brain cancer – will respond to chemotherapy. The findings are published in the July print issue of Oncotarget. “Every patient diagnosed with glioblastoma is treated with a chemotherapy called temozolomide. About 15 percent of these patients derive long-lasting benefit,” said Clark C. Chen, MD, PhD, vice-chairman of Academic Affairs, Division of Neurosurgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the brain cancer that killed Sen. Edward Kennedy and kills approximately 13,000 Americans a year, is aggressive and incurable. Now a Northwestern University research team is the first to demonstrate delivery of a drug that turns off a critical gene in this complex cancer, ...

Immunotherapy is rapidly emerging as a very attractive and novel therapeutic approach for cancer, including for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found one of the keys to why certain glioblastomas – the primary form of a deadly brain cancer – are resistant to drug therapy. The answer lies not in the DNA sequence of the tumor, but in its epigenetic signature. These ...

Matthew Futer is a seven-year glioblastoma survivor. This is his story. Dr. David S. Baskin, director of the Kenneth R. Peak Brain & Pituitary Tumor Treatment Center, talks about Matthew's treatment.