Smart Drug Gives Hope to Brain Cancer Patients

Patients with the most common kind of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, may benefit from an experimental "smart drug," according to a recent study from the Mayo Clinic. The drug has been found to slow the tumor growth in more than a third of the 65 patients studied. Researchers were also able to develop a screening tool that can determine which patients would respond best to the treatment. This smart drug is an investigational compound that can target specific tumor cells, causing a tumor regression in 36% of the patients. The current survival rate for this type of cancer is about 12 to 16 months. Dr. Evanthia Galanis, an oncologist with the Mayo Clinic, commented that the drug offered "a high response for this very resistant disease. These early results suggest that we are on to a promising new treatment strategy that could potentially help us improve treatment for patients with recurrent glioblastoma."

Ms. Farley is a freelance medical writer based in Wakefield, RI.