New therapy for brain cancer is developed

NEW YORK, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed the world's first brain cancer treatment that involves directly spraying a chemotherapy agent onto the tumor.

Neurosurgeons at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center said the breaching of the blood-brain barrier has been a major obstacle in treating glioblastomas -- brain cancers -- because intravenous chemotherapy agents cannot effectively reach brain tissue from the blood stream.

The neurosurgeons said their new procedure involves using micro-catheters that spray the drug directing onto the tumor, in hopes of halting its growth and spread, as well as avoiding common side effects associated with IV chemotherapy, such as nausea and fatigue.

Glioblastoma is the same cancer the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., had, and is diagnosed in 10,000 new cases each year in the United States, with a median survival time of about 15 months, researchers said.

The medical scientists said their new technique -- called super selective intra-arterial cerebral infusion of Avastin -- has been successfully performed on five patients with promising results.

The scientists are currently enrolling patients for a Phase I study, which will test the safety and tolerability of the new method of drug delivery. If proven successful, the scientists said their technique might herald the birth of a new field of interventional neuro-oncology.

Details of the first case are to appear in the Journal of Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology.