Subscribe

Advertisement

Brain Cancer

Relevant Articles About Research and Clinical Trials in Brain Cancer

Stories to Watch

VIEW ALL

VIEW ALL

Advertisement

Advertisement

LATEST

View More

Advertisement

Popular With Peers

More Oncology Studies

Latest Conferences

VIEW MORE

3d illustration of Lymphoma Cancer
Lymphoma

HD-MT With/Without IT-MT and WBRT for Primary CNS Lymphoma

KEY TAKEAWAYS The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HD-MT with or without IT-MT and WBRT for PCNSL. The results showed no significant difference in efficacy between HD-MT alone or with IT-MT plus radiotherapy, with manageable side effects. Primary...

Sep 19, 2024

Latest Conferences

VIEW ALL

VIEW ALL

RELATED CONTENT

VIEW ALL

CM Metastasis: Clinical, Diagnostic, and Treatment Insights

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to evaluate the clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of CM metastasis.
  • Researchers found that CM metastasis has poor survival despite surgery and combined therapy.

Metastasis to the conus medullaris (CM) is rare but severe. Amr Badary and the team aimed to assess the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, treatment options, and outcomes of patients with CM metastasis and brain cancer.

The study conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, analyzing literature on CM metastasis from 1997 to January 2024. The review included human studies published in English, with a focus on primary research articles. Screening criteria were applied to ensure a homogeneous study population. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26, and the JBI checklist was used for quality assessment.

They included 88 patients with CM metastasis. Back pain (49.3%), sensory impairment (75%), and bladder dysfunction (60.3%) were common symptoms. MRI, the primary diagnostic tool, revealed lesions above L1 (37%) or between L1 and L2 (29%). Treatment involved surgery with laminectomy, and combined therapy (surgery plus radiotherapy) in 81.3% of patients.

Postoperative outcomes showed improved motor function in 59.6% of patients who underwent surgery. Combined therapy resulted in better sensory and bowel/bladder function recovery. The median survival time was 100 days.

The study concluded that while surgical resection can enhance motor function and combined therapy improves sensory and bowel/bladder functions, the median survival for conus medullaris metastasis remains around 100 days, shorter than other intramedullary spinal cord metastases.

Funding information was not available.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04816-x

Badary A, Kertam A, El-Ramly TA, et al. (2024). “Understanding metastatic involvement of the conus medullaris: a systematic review of clinical presentations, diagnostic approaches, treatment options, and patient outcomes.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04816-x.

Characterizing ICH in Brain Tumors and Metastatic Lesions

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to characterize the clinical and imaging profiles of acute ICH caused by metastasis or brain tumors.
  • Results concluded over half of neoplastic ICH cases showed stroke-like symptoms, with differences in tumor location and treatments.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) can be caused by underlying brain tumors, brain cancer or metastases (mICH).

Semil Eminovic and the team aimed to provide a detailed clinical and imaging workup of acute ICH caused by underlying metastases or brain tumour lesions.

This retrospective, single-center study included patients with occult ICH on initial CT imaging, classified as tICH or mICH based on follow-up MRI and the H-Atomic classification. Researchers reviewed demographic, clinical, and radiological data.

The study included 116 patients, 17.24% with tICH and 82.76% with mICH. The most common primary cancers causing ICH were lung cancer (27.59%), malignant melanoma (18.10%), and glioblastoma (10.34%).

Focal deficit (53.45%), dizziness (36.21%), and cognitive impairment (23.28%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The occipital lobe showed the highest mICH prevalence (28.13% vs. 0.00% for tICH), while tICH was more common in the corpus callosum (10.00% vs. 0.00% for mICH). Anticoagulation therapy was more frequent in mICH patients (5.21% vs. 0.00% for tICH). Hemorrhage and edema volumes were significantly larger in tICH.

The study concluded that more than half of patients with neoplastic ICH exhibited stroke-like symptoms. Lung cancer was most common in mICH, while glioblastoma prevailed in tICH. Although clinical presentations were similar, significant differences in tumor location and treatments were observed.

No funding was provided.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04811-2

Eminovic S, Orth T, Dell’Orco A, et al. (2024). “Clinical and imaging manifestations of intracerebral hemorrhage in brain tumors and metastatic lesions: a comprehensive overview.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04811-2.

FUS-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Brain Tumors: A Clinical Review

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The review analyzes BBB opening techniques in brain tumor trials, assesses challenges, and suggests future research directions.
  • The results showed FUS effectively disrupts the BBB, but further studies and long-term follow-up are needed.

Brain cancers, especially aggressive forms like glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), pose significant treatment challenges. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) often restricts drug delivery to tumour sites, limiting treatment effectiveness. Focused ultrasound (FUS), when combined with microbubbles, provides a non-invasive method to temporarily open the BBB, offering a potential avenue for improving drug delivery and therapeutic outcomes.

Honglin Zhu and the team aimed to examine clinical trials employing BBB opening techniques to optimize pharmacotherapy for brain tumours, evaluate existing challenges, and propose directions for future research.

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov databases up to November 2023 using the keywords “ultrasound” AND “brain tumor”. After screening titles and abstracts, followed by full-text reviews, 35 studies (11 published, 24 ongoing) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis.

The analysis primarily focused on glioma, including GBM and astrocytoma, with 1 study investigating brain metastasis from breast cancer. The findings indicated that FUS effectively opens the BBB and enhances drug uptake following sonication. However, research on FUS application in children remains limited, with only 3 ongoing trials and no published studies in this demographic.

The study concluded that FUS is a promising strategy for safe and precise BBB disruption, enabling targeted lesioning and improved drug delivery to brain tumour sites. However, more pharmacokinetic studies are needed to quantify drug uptake improvements, and long-term follow-up is essential to evaluate the clinical benefits of this approach.

Further research involving diverse populations and pathologies will provide a more comprehensive understanding of this treatment strategy.

Funding support was provided from the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLGA 2022 25), Action Medical Research/LifeArc (GN3017), the Focused Ultrasound Foundation (FUS1050R1), and Abbie’s Army/Children’s Brain Tumor Drug Delivery Consortium (KCL/G12/22).

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04795-z

Zhu H, Allwin C, Bassous MG, et al. (2024). “Focused ultrasound-mediated enhancement of blood-brain barrier permeability for brain tumor treatment: a systematic review of clinical trials.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04795-z.

Characterizing ICH in Brain Tumors and Metastatic Lesions

Characterizing ICH in Brain Tumors and Metastatic Lesions

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to characterize the clinical and imaging profiles of acute ICH caused by metastasis or brain tumors.
  • Results concluded over half of neoplastic ICH cases showed stroke-like symptoms, with differences in tumor location and treatments.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) can be caused by underlying brain tumors, brain cancer or metastases (mICH).

Semil Eminovic and the team aimed to provide a detailed clinical and imaging workup of acute ICH caused by underlying metastases or brain tumour lesions.

This retrospective, single-center study included patients with occult ICH on initial CT imaging, classified as tICH or mICH based on follow-up MRI and the H-Atomic classification. Researchers reviewed demographic, clinical, and radiological data.

The study included 116 patients, 17.24% with tICH and 82.76% with mICH. The most common primary cancers causing ICH were lung cancer (27.59%), malignant melanoma (18.10%), and glioblastoma (10.34%).

Focal deficit (53.45%), dizziness (36.21%), and cognitive impairment (23.28%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The occipital lobe showed the highest mICH prevalence (28.13% vs. 0.00% for tICH), while tICH was more common in the corpus callosum (10.00% vs. 0.00% for mICH). Anticoagulation therapy was more frequent in mICH patients (5.21% vs. 0.00% for tICH). Hemorrhage and edema volumes were significantly larger in tICH.

The study concluded that more than half of patients with neoplastic ICH exhibited stroke-like symptoms. Lung cancer was most common in mICH, while glioblastoma prevailed in tICH. Although clinical presentations were similar, significant differences in tumor location and treatments were observed.

No funding was provided.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04811-2

Eminovic S, Orth T, Dell’Orco A, et al. (2024). “Clinical and imaging manifestations of intracerebral hemorrhage in brain tumors and metastatic lesions: a comprehensive overview.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04811-2.

Early Glioma Progression Predicted by ML-Based WB-MRS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to introduce a new WB-MRS protocol that explores TMEs to guide surgical and adjuvant interventions.
  • Results showed that ML-based WB-MRS effectively predicts early glioma progression, guiding timely treatment decisions.

Even with maximal safe resection and adjuvant chemoradiation, recurrence in high-grade brain cancer remains inevitable, as current imaging techniques cannot accurately predict future progression.

Cameron A. Rivera and the team aimed to present a novel whole-brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (WB-MRS) protocol that explores tumor microenvironments (TME), providing insights into glioma progression to guide surgical and adjuvant interventions.

Researchers examined 5 locoregional tumor metabolites in a post-treatment population and utilized machine learning (ML) techniques to analyze relationships within 7 regions of interest: contralateral normal-appearing white matter (NAWM), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), contrast-enhancing tumor at the time of WB-MRS (Tumor), areas of future recurrence (AFR), whole-brain healthy (WBH), non-progressive FLAIR (NPF), and progressive FLAIR (PF).

They developed, optimized, trained, tested, and validated 5 supervised ML classification models and a neural network. Additionally, they created a web application to host the Miami Glioma Prediction Map (MGPM), a novel calculator available for open-source use.

About 16 patients with histopathologically confirmed high-grade glioma prior to WB-MRS were included in the study, comprising a total of 118,922 whole-brain voxels. The ML models effectively distinguished normal-appearing white matter from tumor and areas of future progression. The top-performing ML model predicted glioma progression within the FLAIR signal in the post-treatment setting, achieving a mean AUC of 0.86, with Cho/Cr identified as the most significant feature.

This study marks a significant milestone as the first to reveal radiographic occult glioma progression in post-treatment gliomas within 8 months of discovery. The findings highlighted the value of ML-based WB-MRS growth predictions, offering a promising approach for guiding early treatment decisions.

This research represents a crucial step forward in predicting the timing and location of glioblastoma recurrence, with the potential to improve patient outcomes by informing more effective treatment strategies.

No funding information was given.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04812-1

Rivera CA, Bhatia S, Morell AA, et al. (2024). “Metabolic signatures derived from whole-brain MR-spectroscopy identify early tumor progression in high-grade gliomas using machine learning.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04812-1.

Enhanced Survival in Glioblastoma With DC Vaccine Therapy

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to re-evaluate the effectiveness of DC vaccines in improving survival for patients with glioblastoma.
  • The primary endpoints were OS and PFS.
  • DC vaccines significantly improve OS in glioblastoma, with TSA confirming the results. Further research is awaited.

Dendritic cell (DC) vaccines represent a promising immunotherapy approach that can potentially enhance survival in glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. The first phase III clinical trial evaluating the DC vaccine has recently been published.

Chia-En Wong and the team aimed to assess and update the current evidence on the efficacy of the DC vaccine in treating glioblastoma.

Researchers reviewed clinical trials on DC vaccines for glioblastoma by searching PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. They assessed study quality using the RoB 2.0 and ROBINS-I tools. For overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled. They also used random effects models to evaluate the summary effects and conducted a trial sequential analysis (TSA) to assess the robustness of the findings.

The results showed that 7 clinical trials with 3,619 patients were reviewed for the study. The DC vaccine, combined with standard care, significantly improved OS (HR=0.71, 95% CI: 0.57-0.88) and PFS (HR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.43-0.98). For newly diagnosed glioblastoma, the DC vaccine showed better PFS (HR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.39-0.90). TSA of OS met the required sample size, but TSA of PFS and newly diagnosed glioblastoma subgroups did not.

The study concluded that the DC vaccine significantly improves OS in glioblastoma, with TSA confirming a true-positive result. Further research is necessary for newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma patient subgroups.

The study received no funding.

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04798-w#

Wong CE, Chang Y, Chen PW, et al. (2024). “Dendritic cell vaccine for glioblastoma: an updated meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.” J Neurooncol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-024-04798-w

FB and MB SRS Yield Comparable Outcomes in Oligometastases

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The study aimed to compare framed-based and mask-based fixation in SRS for small BM.
  • The results concluded that FB and MB SRS are comparable for single-fraction oligometastases, warranting further research.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the primary treatment for patients with limited small brain cancer metastases. Typically, head fixation is done using framed-based (FB) methods, but mask-based (MB) fixation has emerged as a less invasive alternative. A comparative meta-analysis of these two approaches has yet to be conducted.

Pavel S. Pichardo-Rojas and the team aimed to compare framed-based and MB fixation in stereotactic radiosurgery for treating small brain metastases (BM).

Researchers searched databases up to August 28, 2023, to identify studies comparing MB and FB SRS in treating brain metastases. The primary outcomes of interest included local tumor control (LTC), radiation necrosis (RN), mortality, and treatment time (TT). Statistical comparisons were made using mean difference (MD), risk ratio (RR), and HR.

From an initial 295 articles, 6 studies (including one clinical trial) involving 509 patients were included in the analysis. LTC showed a comparable RR at 6 months (RR = 0.95 [95% CI = 0.89–1.01], P= 0.12) and a slight advantage for FB SRS at one year (RR = 0.87 [95% CI = 0.78–0.96], P= 0.005).

However, in patients with oligometastases treated exclusively with single-fraction SRS, LTC was similar between the groups (RR = 0.92 [95% CI = 0.89–1.0], P= 0.30). Similarly, among these patients, RN (HR= 1.69; 95% CI = 0.72–3.97, P= 0.22), TT (MD = -29.64; 95% CI = -80.38–21.10, P= 0.25), and mortality were also comparable between the groups (RR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.22–1.76, P= 0.37).

The findings suggest that FB and MB SRS are comparable in treating oligometastases, particularly with single-fraction treatment, across outcomes such as LTC, RN, TT, and mortality. Further research is needed to draw definitive conclusions.

No financial support was received,

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11060-024-04738-8

Pichardo-Rojas PS, Vázquez-Alva D, Alvarez-Castro JA, et al. (2024). “Comparative effectiveness of frame-based and mask-based Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery in brain metastases: A 509 patient meta-analysis.” J Neurooncol. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11060-024-04738-8

VIEW ALL

SELECT ONCOLOGY JOURNAL ARTICLES

Lower frequencies of circulating suppressive regulatory T cells and higher frequencies of CD4+ naïve T cells at baseline are associated with severe immune-related adverse events in immune checkpoint inhibitor-treated melanoma

Lower frequencies of circulating suppressive regulatory T cells and higher frequencies of CD4+ naïve T cells at baseline are associated with severe immune-related adverse events in immune checkpoint inhibitor-treated melanoma

Background Immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are major barriers of clinical management and further development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for cancer therapy. Therefore, biomarkers associated with the onset of severe irAEs are needed. In this study, …

BMJ Journals

1222 Antigen-specific delivery of TCR and costimulatory signals by a protein scaffold selectively activates and markedly expands naïve MART-1-specific CD8+ T cells

1222 Antigen-specific delivery of TCR and costimulatory signals by a protein scaffold selectively activates and markedly expands naïve MART-1-specific CD8+ T cells

Background Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) shows promise as an immunotherapy for melanoma and other cancers. However, there are several challenges associated with ACT such as the logistical complexity and inconsistency when using patient-derived antigen-presenting cells for …

BMJ Journals

890 Nivolumab plus ipilimumab in anti-PD(L)-1 naïve and experienced HCC patients -- single institute experience in Taiwan

890 Nivolumab plus ipilimumab in anti-PD(L)-1 naïve and experienced HCC patients -- single institute experience in Taiwan

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the efficacy of combining nivolumab and ipilimumab in Anti-PD(L)-1 Naïve and Experienced HCC patients remains unclear. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 23 patients with advanced …

BMJ Journals

778 TILVANCE-301, a phase 3 study of lifileucel tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy combined with pembrolizumab (pembro) vs pembro alone in treatment-naïve unresectable or metastatic melanoma

778 TILVANCE-301, a phase 3 study of lifileucel tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy combined with pembrolizumab (pembro) vs pembro alone in treatment-naïve unresectable or metastatic melanoma

Background Novel early-line therapies for advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma are needed to improve the rate of deep and durable responses and increase the proportion of patients with long-term benefit. TILVANCE-301 will evaluate the efficacy and …

BMJ Journals