Health Daily News

He had glioblastoma, a brain cancer fighting from any known treatment. The same disease Senator Edward M. Kennedy killed last year. Mr. of Sugrue's in April 2009 was cancer diagnosed and bombarded with the usual weapons: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Within months the tumour grew back. That was when he signed up for the study of AVASTIN.

Approximately 10,000 Americans a year develop glioblastoma. Almost everyone can find that the standard treatments seem to work - for a while. And then the clock starts to run down.With the treatment, the median survival is about 15 Monate.Nur 25 percent of patients make it two years.

The disease is the focus of much research, and will be almost sure for many years. Hundreds of studies be performed brain in glioblastoma and other cancers.Among other things include vaccines and drug combinations and specific drug delivery Techniken.Fortschritt is measured in small increments - a few months of survival, more patients manage to survive two years. On paper, minute seems profits, but for patients the overtime can translate into a graduation or wedding might otherwise have missed.

There are two enormous obstacles for the treatment of glioblastomas.First, no drug is effektiv.Zweitens very even if there was such a drug, get it to the tumor would be difficult. Many drugs can press by the blood - brain barrier, a system of tightly packed cells lining capillaries in the brain. The barrier makes it difficult to treat all brain tumors.

Entered the study with repeating Mr Sugrue, for people glioblastomas, is performed by Dr. John Boockvar, a brain surgeon at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell.Doctors inject to have first a substance called mannitol temporarily open the tumor zone with Avastin.Avastin blocked blood - brain barrier, and then flood the growth of new blood vessels, which tumors. The drug is approved for glioblastoma but can tumors become resistant to it.

AVASTIN is usually dripped into a vein. But Dr. Boockvar and his colleagues wanted to try to beat cancer with a much higher dose of guiding principles tiny tubes, Microcatheters through blood vessels called the tumor site and then unleashing the drug use.

Mr Sugrue was the second patient treated with a small dose. Since then, the study has shown that higher amounts - seven times the dose received - can be safely used.

A report on the first 30 patients was published last month in the journal of neurosurgery online.Tumors shrank in some particularly those who had not AVASTIN vor.Aber a patient gives a stroke from the treatment, the weakness on one side. And it is still too early to say whether this approach survive can extend.

"" We started a year ago,"said Dr. Boockvar added early patients were very sick, and a dose of AVASTIN had."We lost about 15 or half the patients. "The rest are alive and well."

His team has begun new experiments with mannitol and Microcatheters, to provide other drugs directly into the brain. In the future, certain drugs can be combined with AVASTIN.

Dr. Keith black, was Chairman of neurosurgery in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and an expert on violations against the blood - brain barrier, said clearly that AVASTIN good enough would work to survive even when the infused directly into the brain very much to improve.Better drugs are required.

"We drugs in can get, but it's a believe in glioblastoma, for example, that even if you push the limit of drugs increase the survival, not all that much," said Dr. black."It is to have kind of like the Trojan horse before purchase, it us soldiers."

Vaccines for some patients with glioblastoma looked promising, he said.In addition research with animals suggests, viagra or levitra - medication for erectile dysfunction - can open the blood - brain barrier, especially around tumors, and let chemotherapy.In theory, the medication in the form of pill compared to mannitol could be taken.Dr. Black said he planned, study the idea among people with different types of brain tumors, including those that had spread from other sites such as the chest and lungs.Cancer from other institutions invades the brain in 100,000 Americans a year.

The study, Mr. Sugrue is still entered auf.Und Mr Sugrue is so.He lives with his wife, Donna, and their children in their teens, Molly and Tim in Stamford, Connecticut.Molly, senior high school is about to nursing schools anzuwenden.Herr Sugrue still receive intravenous AVASTIN regularly.(He had infused a dose in his brain.)There is no sign of tumor recurrence.

But it is not easy year gewesen.Eine infection in his cut needed many Operationen.Er has seen some peripheral verloren.Er needs no longer drives physical and Beschäftigungstherapie.Obwohl some works, he was unable to his job at a hedge fund full-time Rückkehren.Er but never lost his quick wit and sense of humor, his wife said added "what he went through a lesser man would have killed."

If he had to do it again would he enter the study?

"" Absolutely", Mr Sugrue said in a phone interview last week.""Indeed I questions Dr. Boockvar, whether there are other studies out there."

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