Glow in the dark brains
10 Nov 2011 by Evoluted New Media
Glioblastoma is one of the common and most harmful primary malignant brain tumours in adults, and making the tumours glow in the dark could enable surgeons to remove it more accurately.
The treatment – called 5-ALA, or 5-Amino-Levulinic Acid – is one of two treatments to be used in combination to enter GALA-5, a multi-centre phase to clinical trial. 5-ALA is converted in the body to a fluorescent chemical, which makes the tumour glow infer ultraviolet light during surgery. The technique should allow surgeons to see the edge of the tumour more clearly, enabling a more accurate and complete tumour removal.
The second therapy is given after the tumour is removed and involves inserting wafers impregnated with carmustine – a chemotherapy drug – into the cavity. The drug is released locally to help kill any remaining tumour cells.
The trial will be led by Dr Colin Watts, HEFCE Clinical Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge and will involve 60 patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma. If the combination of the two therapies is found safe and effective, it will be followed by a larger phase III trial.
“I strongly feel that our best opportunity to progress further is to emphasise lab-based research and innovative trials and the GALA-5 trial is a significant step forward in making this a reality,” said Watts.
The trial will include more than 10 centres – including King’s College Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery – and is being coordinated by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and UCL Cancer Trials Centre. It is funded by Samantha Dickinson Brain Tumour Trust and CRUK.
“Treating brain tumours is a real challenge facing clinicians and we urgently need new treatments to help more people diagnosed with the disease,” said Kate Law, director of clinical research at CRUK. “By working together we are able to fund more research and really focus on areas that are going to make a telling difference.”
