Clinical Trial Of Brain Cancer Vaccine Begins At New York University's Department Of Neurology And Neurosurgery

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 05 Feb 2008 - 4:00 PST

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Doctors at New York University Medical Center's Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery are seeking candidates to participate in Phase II clinical trials of a new cutting-edge personalized brain cancer vaccine.

Dr. Patrick Kelly, the world renowned neurosurgeon who is Professor of Neurosurgery at NYUMC, and Dr. Michael Gruber, the prominent neuro-oncologist who is Clinical Professor at NYUMC, are the first doctors in New York State - and NYUMC is only one of five centers nationwide - to utilize this personalized vaccine. It is created by taking a portion of a patient's brain tumor and combining it with dendritic white blood cells. Once the vaccine is injected intra-dermally, it creates an immune reaction resulting in the remaining cancer cells being killed. If successful, the patient's survival rate may increase over 50%.

In fact, in the initial study of this vaccine (conducted at UCLA), two-thirds of the patients were still alive after two years, compared to one-third who only received standard treatment. Moreover, two-fifths of the vaccine-treated patients who survived two years showed no evidence of the disease.

Patients who are candidates for the Phase II trial at NYUMC must be newly-diagnosed, and have not had any other treatment, including chemotherapy and/or radiation. They will first undergo a minimally-invasive procedure to remove the tumor.

There are two main types of brain cancer. Primary brain cancer starts in the brain. Metastatic brain cancer starts somewhere else in the body and moves to the brain. Brain tumors can be benign, with no cancer cells, or malignant, with cancer cells that grow quickly. Brain cancer affects about 29,000 Americans each year. About 13,000 die from a brain tumor a year.

New York University Medical Center