According to a recent article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the agent O6-BG may help to re-sensitize cancer cells to the chemotherapy agent Temodar (temozolomide) in patients with recurrent brain cancer. Treatment for brain cancer typically consists of surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.

Temodar is a chemotherapy agent that is able to pass through the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a membrane that envelopes the brain and spinal cord. It protects the brain and spinal cord by allowing the passage of only very specific molecules. The majority of chemotherapy agents are not able to pass through the blood-brain barrier; this makes it difficult to reach cancer that has spread to or originated in the brain.

Although initial therapy with Temodar may produce anticancer responses, cancer commonly develops a resistance to the agent. This results in subsequent cancer progression or recurrence following initial treatment with Temodar. Once patients experience a cancer recurrence following treatment with Temodar, they have few effective treatment options. In order to counteract this, researchers have been evaluating ways to re-sensitize cancer cells to Temodar following a recurrence or progression after initial treatment with Temodar.

The agent O6-BG is still in early-phase clinical trials. It has demonstrated the ability to reverse resistance of cancer cells to Temodar and re-sensitive them to its repeated administration following a recurrence....MORE...