Promising New Approach in Treating the Deadliest Brain Cancer

Proton beam therapy offers a cure for older patients with glioblastoma using advanced imaging for precise targeting, reducing treatment time, and enhancing quality of life.

Highlights:

Proton beam therapy targets glioblastoma with fewer side effects
About 56% of patients survived 12 months after receiving the proton beam therapy
Ongoing research aims to shorten treatment duration while improving quality of life and survival rates

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer which can lead to death. It is treatment-resistant and spreads very quickly. Researchers have found a new treatment that may help older patients with glioblastoma to live longer ().

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‘Did You Know?
Around 14,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with #glioblastoma every year. #braintumor #medindia’

New Radiation Therapy for Glioblastoma

This innovative approach will maintain their quality of life without affecting their physical, emotional, and social well-being. Around 14,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with glioblastoma every year.

The single-arm study results of Mayo Clinic’s phase 2 trials are published in The Lancet Oncology. Sujay Vora, M.D., radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic, led a team of researchers investigating the use of short-course hypofractionated proton beam therapy with advanced imaging techniques in patients over the age of 65 with newly diagnosed World Health Organization (WHO) grade 4, malignant glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is one of the most challenging tumors to treat as they invade healthy brain tissue with hair like tentacles making the surgery complicated. The tumor’s cellular composition and resistance to treatment make it more challenging. Surgeons must carefully remove the tumor without damaging the functional parts of the brain responsible for functions like movement and speech.

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Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from astrocytes that make up the supportive tissue of the brain. Glioblastomas are usually highly malignant.

How Proton Beam Therapy Targets Glioblastoma

The common treatment for glioblastoma is standard radiation therapy which can be effective. However, it exposes healthy brain tissue to radiation causing unintended damage. Proton beam therapy is a non-surgical form of radiation therapy that kills cancer cells with target precision with minimal side effects to the surrounding healthy tissue.

The study included patients from Arizona and Minnesota and mapped the target area in the patient’s brain by combining 18F-DOPA PET and contrast-enhanced MRI. The combination of advanced imaging techniques determined glioblastoma's most metabolically active or aggressive regions.

Treatment was completed in one to two weeks, compared to the traditional treatment, which takes three to six weeks. Patients tolerated the treatments well and lived longer than expected.

Results showed that 56% of participants were alive after 12 months and the median overall survival was 13.1 months." As compared to prior phase 3 studies in an older population having a median survival of only six to nine months, these results are promising," says Dr. Vora. In some cases, patients with favorable genetics lived even longer, with a median survival of 22 months.

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Recovery from Glioblastoma

A larger, randomized clinical trial is under research. One of the study participants Nadya El-Afandi, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2022. She is married and a mother of four, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. El-Afandi is now 15 months post-treatment with no sign of glioblastoma. "I feel wonderful," says El-Afandi. "I've had my fourth MRI, and we're not seeing any return of the glioblastoma."

She’s back to her normal life and regular activities. “We believe a myth that glioblastoma cannot be cured but I took advantage of this opportunity to treat the condition,” she said. While El-Afandi's results are encouraging, William Breen, M.D., radiation oncologist and principal investigator of the current study says it is too early to draw any conclusions about the safety and efficacy of the treatment until the study is complete.

"Our goal is to transform the way we treat glioblastoma using shorter courses of radiation to minimize the burden on patients and their families and help them complete safe and effective treatment in a shorter amount of time."

The clinical trial, known as SAGA, or stereotactic ablative radiation treatment for glioblastoma, includes patients from Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota. "We are now adding another component that builds upon Dr. Vora's work to help us best visualize the tumor," says Dr. Breen.

Reference:

Breakthrough in treatment approach showing promise in the fight against glioblastoma, the deadliest and most aggressive type of brain cancer - (https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/breakthrough-in-treatment-approach-showing-promise-in-the-fight-against-glioblastoma-the-deadliest-and-most-aggressive-type-of-brain-cancer/)

Source-Medindia

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