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...

Patients whose cancer has spread to the brain can avoid typical hair loss (alopecia) when treated with newer radiation techniques, thereby improving their quality of life while still controlling their cancer, according to a study presented October 16, 2005, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 47th Annual Meeting in Denver.
Most brain cancer patients whose cancer has spread to the brain receive whole brain radiotherapy. This treatment uses two simple radiation beams on each side of the head to target the cancer. It also causes patients to lose the hair on their head. Since hair loss can be upsetting for patients, doctors are experimenting with new types of radiation therapy to see if they are as effective in treating the cancer while preventing hair loss.

In this study, researchers enrolled 10 patients with stage IV cancer that had spread to the brain. Doctors were able to improve upon whole brain radiation therapy by using intensity modulated radiation therapy. This technique, called IMRT, allowed them to further control the intensity of each beam and shape them to better target the cancer while sparing nearby healthy tissue (including hair follicles), allowing patients to significantly reduce the amount of hair they lost.

Half of the patients in the study reported only slightly noticeable hair loss four weeks after treatment ended, and half had no noticeable hair loss. Patients also didn't experience some of the side effects of whole brain radiation, such as a rash on the scalp or behind the ears. With a short follow-up period, overall survival is 100 percent and only one patient has seen their cancer progress.

"This new study will encourage doctors to consider using this new radiation technique to treat cancer that has spread to the brain," said Todd Scarbrough, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the MIMA Cancer Center in Melbourne, Florida. "Although hair loss may seem trivial, losing one's hair can be difficult for a patient who is already depressed from the diagnosis and the strain of the treatments. I'm hopeful this new study will help us improve the quality of life for these patients."

For more information on radiation therapy for brain tumors, visit www.rtanswers.org.

The study, "Alopecia-less" Whole Brain Radiotherapy (WBRT) via IMRT: Preliminary Experience and Outcomes" will be available for poster viewing starting at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 16, 2005. If you would like a copy of the abstract or you would like to speak to the lead author of the study, Todd Scarbrough, M.D., please call Beth Bukata or Nick Lashinsky October 16-20 in the ASTRO Press Room at the Colorado Convention Center at 303-288-8454 or 303-228-8455. You may also e-mail them at bethb@astro.org or nickl@astro.org.