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Leading news
2021 ASCO Annual Meeting abstracts now available online
Abstracts are now available for the forthcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting (2021 ASCO), taking place online from June 4 to 8. Scientific and education programmes will be taking place simultaneously. All abstracts are freely available for viewing online here. Further meeting details can be found here.
Time To Act: Don’t let Covid-19 stop you from tackling cancer
At a virtual event on May 11, the European Cancer Organisation (E.C.O) launched its ‘Time To Act’ campaign. With the important message ‘Don’t let Covid-19 stop you from tackling cancer’, the initiative is seeking to reverse the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening, diagnosis, care and wellbeing. Targeting members of the public and healthcare professionals, as well as policy-makers and decision-makers, campaign materials are available in over 30 languages. The informative virtual launch event can be watched here. Campaign materials, videos and more information can be found via TimeToActCancer.com. The IBTA has been very involved in this initiative with E.C.O. and strongly supports it. 'Time to Act' will be rolled out in various European countries and was very recently launched in Poland, with future national launches taking place on 17 June in Italy and 25 June in Spain. If you would like more information and to be involved, please contact info@europeancancer.org
NCI-CONNECT survey on survivorship - appeal for survey responders
The National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Neuro-Oncology Branch, NCI-CONNECT programme, based in the United States, would like your input on the challenges, issues and needs of survivorship care, research and education for people living with brain and spine tumours and their care partners. Input will be shared with experts and leaders in neuro-oncology to help them develop survivorship care guidelines and address gaps in brain and spine tumour survivorship care. The eight-question survey should take about five minutes to complete and is open to patients and caregivers in any country. Click here.
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Treatment news
A new ‘blueprint’ for Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields)-based combination therapy in glioblastoma
A review article published in the American Journal of Cancer Research has set out a ‘blueprint’ for how Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) technology may be best used as part of a ‘cocktail therapy’ (combination therapy) for treating glioblastoma. Summarising and assessing both published and ongoing clinical studies of the technology, the article’s authors consider how TTFields may supplement and enhance established and experimental glioblastoma drugs and therapies. Read more (full article).
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Research news
Study reports positive results in clinical trial of viral immunotherapy in children with high-grade glioma
A herpes virus engineered to infect cancer cells named G207 was shown to be safe and to have an anti-tumour effect in children with high-grade glioma, according to results from a phase 1 clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, 12 patients who were 7 to 18 years old with high-grade glioma received G207 via a catheter directly into the tumour site. Eleven of the patients showed responses to the treatment and four children were still alive 18 months on. Read more.
US FDA committee meets to discuss new system for monitoring adverse effects of cancer treatment in children and adolescents
The US Food and Drug Administration’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (FDA ODAC) – an independent expert group that reviews and evaluates cancer treatment data – met to discuss a new method for recording side effects and symptoms of treatments in paediatric cancer patients (including those with brain tumours) which incorporates the child’s perspective. Known as the Paediatric PRO-CTCAE (patient-reported outcomes measurements linked to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events), the committee looked at study data showing that this tool was a valid and reliable way for physicians to better understand and monitor side effects of therapy, which often go underreported in children. Read more.
Children with recurrent solid tumours invited to join clinical trial of immunotherapy drug combined with low-dose chemotherapies
The second stage of a phase 1/2 clinical trial (called Metro-PD1) of the immunotherapy agent nivolumab with a combination of low-dose chemotherapy agents in children with relapsed/recurrent solid cancers, including brain tumours (but excluding paediatric high grade glioma/diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma), has now opened. The first stage involving 16 patients tested the safety of the chemotherapy combination (cyclophosphamide, capecitabine and vinblastine) with nivolumab – a ‘checkpoint inhibitor’ designed to stimulate the immune system. The second stage, examining how well the treatment works, is now recruiting children at various sites across France and Belgium. Read more. More clinical trial information can be found here and here (clinicaltrials.gov).
Initial patient dosed in first-in-human clinical trial of non-invasive sonodynamic therapy for the treatment of recurrent high-grade glioma
The Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in the United States, the largest early-phase drug development program for brain cancer in the world, has announced the dosing of its first patient in a first-in-human phase 0 clinical trial of sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Sonodynamic therapy involves an infusion of an agent that accumulates in brain tumour cells called Sonala-001 – a special formulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) – followed by MRI-guided ultrasound focused onto the brain tumour mass, which activates a by-product of Sonala-001 that then destroys the cancer cells. Read more (including video). More information on the trial can be found here (Clinicaltrials.gov).
Antibody treatment makes checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy more effective in glioblastoma, according to animal experiments
Published in Nature Communications, a series of experiments on mice with glioblastoma has shown how it may be possible to increase the effectiveness of immune checkpoint blockers (a type of immunotherapy also known as checkpoint inhibitors). Researchers showed how a class of T cells known as ‘Tregs’ (regulatory T Cells), which normally serve to prevent the body attacking itself, are manipulated by glioblastoma tumours to hide themselves from the rest of the immune system. By treating mice with an antibody drug that targets a receptor protein on the surface of Tregs called GITR (glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related receptor), this shielding was reversed, turning Tregs into immune cells that act against the tumour. Simultaneous treatment with immune checkpoint blockers (which are themselves designed to counteract the immune system-inhibiting effects of cancers) was then shown to be effective in extending survival in animals carrying human glioblastoma tumours. Read more.
Study seeks to find causes of mutations that lead to gliomas
In an effort to find underlying factors that lead to glioma tumours developing, a thorough analysis of the DNA of 1,105 adult glioma tumour samples (taken from the National Cancer Institute’s Genomic Data Commons Data Portal and the Glioma Longitudinal AnalySiS Consortium – the “GLASS Consortium”) has been published in the journal Neuro-Oncology. The study found that the glioma-causing mutations do not appear to be caused by pollutants or carcinogens (known as exogenous factors) but rather from errors in DNA replication (termed endogenous factors) – most often as a result of the ageing process. The spectrum of cancer-causing mutations was also different between men and women and the study’s authors highlighted that a rare environmental exposure to haloalkanes (found in flame retardants and fire extinguishers) may account for some glioma cases. Read more (full article available).
Animal study shows normal white matter repair process may halt glioblastoma growth; asthma drug shows promise as future brain tumour treatment
Findings from a series of animal experiments published in Nature Communications have suggested how it may be possible to halt the growth of glioblastoma tumours by harnessing the brain’s natural repair processes. Using human brain tumours grown in mice, researchers found that glioblastoma cells that invaded the brain’s white matter (the fat-rich parts containing brain cells’ long projections) triggered a tumour-inhibiting repair response. Survival in the animals was extended following treatment with drugs that enhance the body’s white matter repair process, including Pranlukast, an approved asthma medicine. Read more.
CAR T cell therapy effective in clearing glioblastoma tumours from animals, according to study
A new type of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy was able to completely clear brain tumours from mice carrying human glioblastoma tumours in experiments published in Clinical & Translational Immunology. According to the study, researchers developed molecular receptors to tightly bind on to a protein commonly present on brain tumour cells – epidermal growth factor receptor mutant variant III (EGFRvIII) – which were then fused to extracted T cells (a type of immune cell), before being reinjected into the bloodstream. CAR T cell therapy has been shown to be effective in treating blood cancers, and it is hoped this new technique will offer effective glioblastoma CAR T cell treatments. Read more.
Focused ultrasound combined with new RNA-based brain tumour therapy shows promise in animal experiments, researchers say
A team of researchers has demonstrated how a new RNA-based treatment for malignant brain tumours may be delivered through the blood-brain barrier and into brain tumours using ‘microbubble-enhanced focused ultrasound’. In methods described in Science Advances, strips of RNA (a molecule carrying genetic information) that were programmed to interfere with tumour cell growth were loaded into tiny (50-nm) fat-coated nanoparticles which allowed them to withstand travel through the blood. Alongside an infusion of microbubbles, these nanoparticles were injected into animals carrying medulloblastoma and malignant glioma tumours. Focused ultrasound was then directed at the tumour to activate the microbubbles, temporarily making the blood-brain barrier leaky enough to allow the nanoparticles to penetrate into the tumour, leading to an accumulation of these cancer-fighting nanoparticles within the tumour itself. Read more.
No difference in adverse events between proton beam therapy and conventional radiation therapy for meningioma, study finds
A study published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology comparing the outcomes of meningioma patients treated with either proton beam therapy or conventional radiotherapy (termed photon therapy) has found no difference in adverse events or survival outcomes between the two groups after an average (median) follow-up of 2.2 years. Radiation therapy may be used in meningioma where surgery is difficult or there are other concerning features. This retrospective analysis of 38 patients who received proton therapy and 39 patients who received photon therapy concluded that outcomes were broadly similar, although there were more changes on some MRI scan views (abnormal T1 post-contrast and T2 signal intensities) after proton beam therapy, which may warrant further research. Read more.
Studies highlight value of PET scans in helping diagnose pseudoprogression after chemoradiotherapy in glioblastoma patients, and in guiding immunotherapy and targeted treatment for brain metastases
A study published in Clinical Cancer Research suggests that the routine use of PET (positron-emission tomography) scanning with FET tracers may help improve treatment planning for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients who are receiving a combination of radiotherapy, temozolomide and lomustine (known as the CeTeG/NOA-09 protocol). An evaluation of 23 patients who underwent FET-PET scans within 5-25 weeks after radiotherapy showed that the technique was effective for distinguishing ‘pseudoprogression’ from true tumour growth, when MRI scans were unclear. In this analysis, 11 patients (48%) experienced pseudoprogression – scan appearances mimicking tumour growth without actual progression. Read more (abstract). A separate study of 40 patients with brain metastases published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine has reported that FET-PET scans are valuable in treatment monitoring for patients with brain metastases who are being treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors or targeted treatments. The technique allows for more accurate detection of relapse and tumour shrinkage when MRI scans are inconclusive. Read more.
Computer simulation points to potential targets for glioblastoma drugs
A computer programme simulating the complex genetic regulatory pathways within glioblastoma tumours has identified critical points in these internal molecular processes that drugs should theoretically target in order to prevent glioblastoma growth and cause cancer cell death. Inputting the mutations present in nine different glioblastoma tumour types (known as cell lines) that are used in laboratory research, the computer simulations ranked the genes most likely to have an anti-tumour effect when targeted by therapy. Various anti-cancer and non-cancer drugs as well as experimental agents and their combinations were tested in these computer simulations. Read more (full paper).
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Company news
Novocure and GT Medical Technologies collaborate to trial TTFields and GammaTile therapy in recurrent glioblastoma
Novocure has announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with GT Medical Technologies to investigate a treatment approach of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) together with GT Medical Technologies’ GammaTile Surgically Targeted Radiation Therapy (STaRT) for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Novocure’s TTFields are electric fields that disrupt cancer cell division. GammaTile is an FDA-cleared therapy for the treatment of all types of brain tumours. Both companies plan to conduct a phase 2 pilot study to test the effectiveness and safety of a programme of TTFields followed by resection, GammaTile Therapy, and then TTFields in recurrent glioblastoma. Read more (company press release).
Northwest Biotherapeutics applies for MHRA certification of new manufacturing facility in the UK
Northwest Biotherapeutics has announced that they have submitted an application to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for certification of their manufacturing facility in Sawston, UK, to start manufacturing products for patients. A smaller facility in London is currently operational. The company has also provided a process update on a DCVax-L Phase III Trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. DCVax-L is a personalised dendritic cell vaccine that is made from each patient's own dendritic cells (a class of immune cell) and tumour tissue and is designed to train the immune system to attack the individual’s particular disease. Read more (company press release).
FDA clears an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for Samus Therapeutics’ PU-AD for recurrent malignant glioma
Samus Therapeutics has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to develop PU-AD (icapamespib) for the treatment of recurrent malignant glioma. This approval allows Samus Therapeutics to proceed with a phase 1b trial of PU-AD in a small group of patients with recurrent malignant glioma, so that the agent can be tested for safety, tolerability and to examine how it is processed by the body. PU-AD is a drug that inhibits a molecule called heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) and which is also under investigation as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Read more (company press release).
First patient is treated in phase 2 clinical trial of Day One Pharmaceuticals’ DAY101 for paediatric progressive low-grade glioma, company announces
Day One Biopharmaceuticals has announced that the first patient has been treated in a phase 2 clinical trial (called FIREFLY-1) that is evaluating the safety and efficacy of DAY101 in paediatric, adolescent and young adult patients with recurrent or progressive low-grade glioma carrying an altered BRAF gene – mutations of which are common in various paediatric cancers. DAY101 is a drug that penetrates the brain and inhibits a molecular pathway that promotes tumour growth, which may be disrupted by a faulty BRAF gene. Read more (company press release). Clinical trial information available here (Clinicaltrials.gov)
Enrolment now open for trial of CNS Pharmaceuticals’ berubicin for recurrent glioblastoma, company announces
CNS Pharmaceuticals has announced that enrolment is now open for a clinical trial of its drug berubicin for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. This randomised phase 2 trial will be comparing berubicin with the chemotherapy agent lomustine and is seeking to recruit 210 patients from across 35 sites in the US, with plans to expand into Europe. Berubicin is an anthracycline (a class of anticancer agents) that is capable of penetrating the brain to cause DNA damage in cancer cells. Read more (company press release). Clinical trial information available here (Clinicaltrials.gov).
Medicenna announces clinical data from its phase 2b trial evaluating MDNA55 in recurrent glioblastoma
Medicenna Therapeutics has announced that data from a phase 2b clinical trial of its immunotoxin MDNA55 in recurrent glioblastoma has been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. Delivered directly to the brain via a catheter, MDNA55 is a toxin-loaded molecule that binds to a receptor (IL-4R) present on the surface of glioblastoma cells then delivers that toxin into the cell. The average (median) overall survival of those receiving the treatment, and whose progress could be evaluated via MRI was 11.8 months. Read more (company press release).
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Cancer policy
All.Can publishes important data paper
The IBTA is pleased to announce that All.Can International - a not-for-profit organisation with which the IBTA has worked closely for a number of years - has published a major new report: Harnessing data for better cancer care. The report offers policymakers, care providers, patients and decision-makers a forward-looking view of how to ensure that high-quality health data are systematically collected and used to improve outcomes for patients across the entire cancer care pathway. The recommendations are based on a structured literature review, 16 expert interviews and consultation with the All.Can International Data Working Group and an External Advisory Committee. The report also includes case studies that provide concrete examples of how data have transformed cancer care, and which can be emulated elsewhere. Read more.
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Event news
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person meetings and conferences around the world have been cancelled, postponed, or converted to virtual events. We are trying our best to keep up with this news but please make sure you check with conference organisers as to the status of their scheduled events.
PATIENT AND STAKEHOLDER CONFERENCES AND EVENTS 2021
June
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Webinar Series
It’s All About Being Adaptive! Rehabilitation When You Have a Brain Tumour
22 June 2021
Online
September
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Webinar Series
Navigating the Twists and Turns of Survivorship: School and Work Considerations for Youth and Young Adults
21 September 2021
Online
October
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Webinar Series
Changing the Caregiver Experience: Ways to Take Charge and Support Yourself and Your Loved One Living with a Brain Tumour
26 October 2021
Online
International Brain Tumour Awareness Week
30 October – 6 November 2021
November
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Webinar Series
Genomic and Molecular Markers in Glioma: Where Are We Now?
23 November 2021
Online
SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES 2021
June
2021 ASCO Annual Meeting
4-8 June 2021
Online
1st Asian Society for Neuro-Oncology (ASNO) Webinar – Updates in Neuro-Oncology
4 June 2021
Online
2021 SNO Pediatric Conference – 6th Biennial Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Basic and Translational Research Conference
10-12 June 2021
Online
NCI-CONNECT Survivorship Care in Neuro-Oncology Symposium
21 June 2021
Online
Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium Annual Meeting (BTEC 2021)
“Brain Tumor Biomarkers: For Research, Clinics and Registries”
22-24 June 2021
Online
Inaugural Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis Colloquium
25-26 June 2021
Online
Brain Tumors Meeting 2021
21-23 June 2021 Rescheduled to 22-24 June 2022
Warsaw, Poland
EANO Webinar on Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Brain Tumor Colonization
30 June 2021
Online
July
British Neuro-Oncology Society Annual Meeting (BNOS 2021)
8-9 July 2021
Online
SNO Basic and Translational Omics of Brain Tumors and Their Microenvironment
15-16 July 2021
Online
SNO Laser Hyperthermia for CNS Disorders Educational Webinar
21 Jul 2021
Online
August
SNO 3rd Annual Conference on Brain Metastases
19-21 August 2021
Toronto, Canada
AANS 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting: “Neurosurgery United – Stronger Together”
21-25 August 2021
Orlando, Florida, USA
September
2021 Congress of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO)
25-26 September 2021
Online
October
SNO 1st Annual Conference on CNS Clinical Trials
1-2 October 2021
Online
Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) 2021 Annual Meeting
16-20 October 2021
Austin, Texas, USA
34th Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM)
20-23 October 2021
Online
2021 Congress of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP)
21-24 October 2021
Online
2021 Congress of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO) Educational Day
23 October 2021
Online
13th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Co-operative Trials Group for Neuro-Oncology (COGNO)
24–26 October 2021
Melbourne, Australia
November
SNO 2021 Annual Meeting and Education Day
18-21 November 2021
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
December
Flash Radiotherapy and Particle Therapy Conference
1-3 December 2021
Vienna, Austria and Online
2022
March
6th Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology Societies (WFNOS) and 17th Meeting of the Asian Society for Neuro-Oncology (ASNO)
24-27 March 2022
Seoul, South Korea
June
15th International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society Congress
19-23 June 2022
Milan, Italy
Brain Tumors Meeting 2022 – From Biology to Therapy
22-24 June 2022
Warsaw, Poland
September
Posterior Fossa Society – First Global Meeting
9-11 September 2022
Liverpool, UK
16th Congress of the European Association of Neuro-Oncology (EANO)
15-18 September 2022
Vienna, Austria
November
27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO 2022)
16-20 November 2022
Tampa, Florida, USA
If you are organising or are aware of a forthcoming patient or brain tumour advocacy event or a scientific conference, whether it is virtual or in-person, taking place in 2021 or 2022 or are aware of any changes to the listings above, then please let us know by emailing kathy@theibta.org so that we can also include new events on our events page.
Keep up to date with future scientific conferences and events on the IBTA website conferences page here.
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The International Brain Tumour Alliance was established in 2005. It is a network of support, advocacy and information groups representing brain tumour patients and carers in different countries and also includes researchers, scientists, clinicians and allied health professionals who work in the field of brain tumours.
For more information, please visit www.theibta.org.
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We love to hear from you if you have any news that you would like to share with the IBTA community. Just send us an email: kathy@theibta.org.
We will do our best to relay as much information as possible to our subscribers via this monthly newsletter and our website. The selection of e-News entries is at the sole discretion of the editors.
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