Thursday, October 7, 2010

Vaccine found to fight against Brain tumor.

Researcher found out a new experimental vaccine that drastically helps in extending the life of patients with the most deadly type of brain tumor, glioblastoma (GBM), according to a small-scale US study published on Monday.

This vaccine is designed to targets a aggressive cancer gene called EGFRvIII that fuels glioblastomas, researchers said.

In their study of 18 patients, survival rate was extended from an expected 15 months to 26 months.

The study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology also said the vaccinated patients benefited from a longer “progression-free survival period, 14.2 months, compared to 6.3 months for those who did not receive the vaccine.”

All of the participants received surgery, radiation and the chemotherapy drug temozolomide, and then patients in the vaccine group “began receiving injections one month after completing radiation and stayed on the vaccine as long as it appeared to be working,” said the study.

Researchers found the vaccine stimulated an immune response in approximately half the patients vaccinated.

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