Human trials of lisavanbulin, a new brain cancer drug, have raised hope it will be confirmed as the first targeted treatment for the disease. The drug, developed by Swiss biopharmaceutical company Basilea Pharmaceutica, is believed to hold promise as a treatment for a range of treatment-resistant cancers. Lisavunbulin’s ability to permeate the blood-brain barrier, a problem for most drugs, mean there is particular optimism it could make a difference for patients suffering from aggressive forms of brain cancer.
The drug has been trialled by the NHS, with some highly encouraging results showing tumours shrunk by up to 90%. While the drug is not a cure for brain cancer patients, it could give them precious extra years. The most common, and most severe, kind of high-grade primary brain tumour are aggressively-growing Glioblastomas.
These tumours not only grow quickly but send out tendrils that reach into other parts of the brain, spreading the disease. The tumours are also resilient and often come back even when treated to the point of obliteration. Average brain cancer survival time from diagnosis is just 12 to 18 months but only 25% of patients with glioblastoma tumours make it beyond a year.
Lisavanbulin trials have shown the potential for survival rates beyond diagnosis to be significantly extended with some patients on the trial still doing well three to four years after initial surgery. The NHS trial is being run by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the London-based Institute of Cancer Research.
Lisavanbulin works in a different way to the radiation therapy that has previously been used to treat brain cancer and uses high-power x-rays to kill cancer cells, shrinking tumours. The new treatment is a targeted chemotherapy drug that prevents the growth of tumours and spread of cancer through a less destructive approach. It interferes with how cancer cells usually reproduce and spread by acting directly on changes to the proteins and genes that enable its growth.
Around 5000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma every year in the UK and positive trial data means more are now likely to be offered the new treatment. An international phase 2 study has also now begun with patients being recruited in Germany, Switzerland and the UK.
The Royal Marsden study was led by consultant medical oncologist Dr Juanita Lopez, who is also a clinical researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research. She said of the positive early results:
“We believe that our findings could be a key step in the development of the world’s first targeted brain cancer treatment, offering hope to some patients with aggressive glioblastoma.”
“People with brain cancer currently have very poor survival rates and lack treatment options, so this could be a very welcome addition to our limited arsenal of tools to combat the disease.”