A scientific research team situated in Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered that combination chemotherapy treatment for patients suffering from glioblastoma can drastically increase survival rates.
Glioblastoma, otherwise known as glioblastoma multiforme, is an incredibly aggressive type of cancer with a notoriously bleak prognosis (a term used to judge the outcome following the diagnosis of a condition) with a mere 3% of patients living 3 years post-diagnosis. Much ambiguity is associated with it due to its unclear origins and complex treatment procedures, and the decision to perform surgery can be very difficult to make. Even when patients are treated, neurosurgeons are left with the task of deciding how much of the tumour can should be removed; too much, and there is the risk of damaging the brain itself, too little, and there is the risk of the tumour reappearing later on in life. To add to the complexity surrounding the issue, there is still debate as to how much of the tumour removal is directly related to its improvement.
For the last 20 years, the go-to chemotherapy treatment for glioblastoma has been a drug named temozolomide. Chemotherapy, coupled with surgical procedures and radiotherapy, has increased the survival rates of sufferers between the early 21st century to present, however, the vast majority of those with the tumour would still go on to die a few years after initial diagnosis. This was largely due to the resistance patients developed to the drug after its prolonged and widespread usage. It was clear that even after all the treatment possibilities, the prognosis of the condition remained terrible.
A scientific research team has screened various anti-cancerous drugs in the hopes of finding a drug that is also suitable for those who have developed resistance against the orthodox treatment drug, temozolomide. After much testing, which involved various types of cell lines, it was discovered that the combination treatment was most effective. Lab trials on mice revealed that those receiving the combination chemotherapy treatment not only displayed a significant reduction in the tumour size, but 60% were completely cured.
Clinical trials in humans are set to begin this year with the extra benefit of hydroxyurea bypassing the major safety trials as it is already an established drug, commonly used for the treatment of other types of diseases and cancers, such as cervical cancer.
The results from the animal lab trials are incredibly promising and will hopefully pave the way for a massive step forward in the treatment of glioblastoma.
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