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Title: New Treatment for Brain Cancer: Avastin (Bevacizumab) View count: 9781 Rating: 5.0 (8 ratings) Description: Every two weeks, David Rose spends three hours at Mayo Clinic receiving chemotherapy for a brain tumor called a glioblastoma. He started the experimental treatment about nine months ago. Standard treatments such as surgery, radiation and other types of chemotherapy worked for a while, but the tumor kept coming back. "His tumor was much more aggressive when it came back. It was dividing at a much more rapid rate. We thought it was pretty much the end for David at that point," say Doctor Kurt Jaeckle, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic. But Dr. Jaeckle says a chemotherapy drug called Bevacizumab, which is FDA approved for colon and lung cancer, has reduced David's tumor to the point where you can't see it on an MRI. Tumor growth depends on blood flow from nearby vessels. These vessels grow into the tumor after receiving a signal from the tumor. That signal is a protein called VEGF. The medication David receives blocks the VEGF from attaching to receptors on the blood vessels. Without the signals to grow, the tumor can shrink. The FDA has not yet approved this drug as a brain cancer treatment, but research suggests that it could be effective for more than 50% of the people who use it. "The jury is still out if this will translate into patients living longer, staying disease-free for a longer period of time. But we're all excited," says Jaeckle. And they're excited for David, who is living a normal life while battling a deadly disease. Source kaaltv.com Tags: glioblastoma, bevacizumab, avastin, glioma, brain, tumor, cancro, tumore, cervello, Author: ItalianGBMGroup |
