Cottonseed-based Drug Hope for Lethal Brain Cancer Patients

An experimental drug derived from cottonseeds appears to be effective in treating the most lethal brain cancer called glioblastoma, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The researchers came to this conclusion following the results of a Phase II clinical trial of AT-101, a pill manufactured from a potent compound in cottonseeds that overcomes the abnormal growth patterns of tumour cells.

About Brain Tumor
Brain tumors are the abnormal growth of brain cells that may be benign or metastatic. Brain tumors account for about 2.4% of all the tumor diagnosesandare most challenging due to their critically delicate location.

Glioblastomas are more common in adults, and are considered fast-growing brain tumours that are very difficult to treat.

Research leader Dr. John Fiveash, an associate professor in the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology, said that the cottonseed-based agent was found to halt the cancer's progression in many of the 56 patients.

He revealed that despite undergoing other treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the trial patients' brain cancer had begun to grow again prior to starting AT-101 treatments.

Head aches - Types - Symptoms - Migraine - Diagnosis - Treatment
A headache literally means ‘pain in the head’. It is a common complaint that may occur frequently in some

The trial-monitored patients took only AT-101 daily for three out of four weeks.

"After getting this drug some of these patients went many months without any new growth in their tumours. We are able to do that with a well-tolerated oral medication, and that is a major benefit," Fiveash said.

Genetic Fingerprints Identify Brain Tumors' Origins
Genetic fingerprints that reveal where a brain cell came from remain distinct even after the cell becomes a brain tumor

He believes that the drug would likely work best in combination with radiation and chemotherapy to boost the cancer-fighting properties of those treatments.

Fiveash and his colleagues are also trying to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from AT-101.

Cancer Drug Avastin Fights Brain Tumors too
Lung and colorectal cancer drug Avastin has been tested for the first time against the most common and deadly form of brain cancer.

The initial results of the drug trial would be presented on May 30, during the poster discussion of central nervous system tumours at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Source-ANI
RAS