Brain Cancer

During her cancer journey, an author and her physicist friend traded insights.

NextSource Pharma, a small pharmaceutical company based in Florida, acquired the drug lomustine from Bristol-Myers Squibb, changed its brand name to Gleostine, and changed the price – by about 1,400 percent.

Adequate end-of-life care derives a variety of benefits for both patients and their families, including less invasive and ineffective intervention and less financial burden, said study author Justin Jordan, M.D., MPH, clinical director of the Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center.
 

Optune is a method of treatment where adhesive patches are applied to the patient’s scalp. The patch transductors deliver low-intensity electric fields – called Tumor Treating Fields – that stop the growth and division of GBM cells.

The FDA has granted Avastin (bevacizumab) a full approval for the treatment of adult patients with glioblastoma who progressed following prior therapy, according to Genentech, the manufacturer of the VEGF inhibitor.
 

After tracking the progress of about 20 patients with brain cancer who used cannabis, a neuro-oncologist found that the substance caused them no harm, had few side effects and did not interfere with conventional treatments.
 

Can a certain diet improve cancer outcomes?

Immunotherapies are largely unavailable to patients with brain cancer, but many of these approaches are being studied both in labs and in clinical trials, and there is hope that they will eventually play a role in the treatment of gliomas.
 

Quality-of-life care has benefits from the outset for these patients, but because some might confuse it with end-of-life support, neuro-oncologists may be hesitant about introducing it.
 

At its third annual gala, the magazine honored four professionals for their work helping people with glioblastoma.