A re-analysis of clinical trial data shows that a combination of radiation and chemotherapy can double median survival time for some patients with a rare brain tumor, oligodendroglioma—from 7.3 to 14.7 years.

The affected patients are ones whose tumor has sections of chromosomes 1 and 19 deleted.
Principal Investigator Gregory Cairncross, MD, of the University of Calgary in Canada, says the re-analysis gives us “unequivocal evidence that the chromosomal structure of 1p and 19q co-deletion can be used as a marker to determine which patients will benefit from combined chemotherapy and radiation.” Dr. Cairncross has been an active advisor to the National Brain Tumor Society for several years.

An extra seven years would provide valuable family time for brain tumor patients. Moreover, such an increase in survival might be just enough time for researchers to develop a new therapy that could provide more time—or possibly a cure.

In the clinical trial, 286 patients with aggressive oligodendrogliomas received either radiotherapy alone or radiotherapy plus PCV chemotherapy (procarbazine, CCNU[lomustine], and vincristine).  In the first analysis (2006), when patients had been followed for three years, survival time amounted to 8.7 years for patients with the 1p19q deletion and 2.7 years for patients without the deletion.

In the re-analysis, after patients have now been followed more than 11 years, patients whose tumor has the deletion who received the combination treatment had overall survival times of 14.7 years compared to 7.3 years for the patients whose tumor did not have the co-deletion.

This news highlights the importance of Phase III clinical trials to produce actionable results. It also highlights the importance of tumor tissue collection and analysis for potential use in personalized medicine.

Tuesday night, President Obama delivered the State of the Union address. This annual speech in front of a joint session of Congress provides an opportunity for the President to lay out key national priorities for the coming year. Members of the brain tumor community connected on Twitter as we watched, eager to see a strong commitment from the President on our top issues.

As many expected, the President focused primarily on jobs and the economy. While we didn’t see a strong emphasis on our key issues, we were excited by and appreciative of the nod to advances in cancer research. Increased funding for cancer research is a major policy priority for our advocates.

In these difficult times, there are so many issues vying for the nation’s attention. By uniting our voices, we can ensure that policies impacting brain tumor patients and caregivers are given the consideration and support that they need and deserve. We are making great strides and, with the support of policymakers in Washington, DC, we will continue fight for more research, better treatments, and improved health care until a cure is found.

Will you help us draw attention to these critical issues? Your voice and your story can make a difference. Become an advocate today. Let’s make 2012 the year to fight brain tumors.

(Today's blog comes from David R. Hurwitz, PhD, the Richard B. Ross Chief Scientifc Officer of the National Brain Tumor Society).

"Brain tumors are just about as complex as biology gets:  many types and subtypes, intricate aberrant and interacting signal transduction and biochemical pathways, evolving genomic mutations, phenotypic plasticity, cellular heterogeneity, and bidirectional interactions with the microenvironment that support tumor growth and resistance to therapies. A recent article by Jonah Lehrer in Wired discusses the limitations and failures of reductionist research to yield effective and safe new therapies for diseases that involve even what has previously been considered very direct and straightforward biology. An example he discusses is the stunning Phase III failure of torcetrapib to reduce heart disease (it actually increased heart failure and mortality) by tweaking the cholesterol pathway in what seemed an obvious approach emphasizes that limitation. The biology was simply more complex than thought.

In light of the yet already known biological complexity involved in such brain tumors as glioblastoma, how likely does it seem that new effective therapies that inhibit individual or multiple targets will be developed without utilizing systems biology research approaches that embrace that complexity?"

Read the full article here.

If you haven't decided on a New Year's Resolution, here is something to try - mindfulness meditation.

Everyday life is full of stress and if you are a part of the brain tumor community, there can be added stress and limitations around what you can do to alleviate it. Mindfulness meditation is an an easy and free coping strategy.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a resource to help you start your mindfulness meditation. All that it requires is an open-mind and can-do attitude.

Let’s begin, make sure you have a 30-40 minutes on that can be as distraction-free as possible. These tips are taken from National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s Meditation Overview.

1. Find a quiet space - this generally makes it easier to focus and relax. This can be outside in the sunshine or on the floor in your closet, wherever you need to be for relative silence and fewer potential distractions.

2. A comfortable position - this can be sitting, lying down, standing or walking. Pick something that will remain comfortable.

3. A focus of attention - pick a quote that you like or a song lyric, visualize the sun warming you, think about a memory that makes you happy and calms you. It does not matter what you choose to focus; all that matters is that you have focus. Sometimes feelings arise and you can choose to focus on those, but remember your focus.

4. Finally, remember to have an open-mind and can do attitude. There is no wrong way to meditate and your experience is individualized and for your own wellness only.

Start slowly and try to build up to a full half hour. Try not to be discouraged if you struggle, keep at it. Spend 30 minutes investing in yourself and your feelings this week.

Let us know how you do by posting a comment.