A new clinical trial investigating brain cancer in Australia is delivering some positive data

A new Australian clinical trial being conducted by the Co-Operative Trials Group for Neuro Oncology (COGNO), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the University of Sydney, is offering patients living with the rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, unmethylated glioblastoma, hope for their future.

The VERTU clinical trial is being led by Oncologist and University of Sydney researcher, Dr Mustafa Khasraw, with funding support from the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, NSW Cancer Council, and pharmaceutical company, Abbvie, along with several smaller charities.

In Australia, brain cancer is responsible for around 1,200 deaths per annum. The latest data reveal that in 2016, an estimated 1,900 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of brain cancer, less than 22 per cent of whom will survive for more than five years’ post- diagnosis.

For patients living with unmethylated glioblastoma, the annual survival rate is one year.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, Dr Khasraw explained that without methylation of the gliobastoma tumour, more patients will die within a year.

“Having no methylation of the glioblastoma means more patients die in a year,” said Dr Khasraw.

“What we’re trying to do is give the standard radiotherapy treatment, but instead of the chemotherapy that has been largely disappointing in this group, give them a new medicine that has shown promise in other cancers.”

The treatment being trialled in this study cohort is veliparib, an experimental anti-tumour medication that works to inhibit DNA repair, and delay tumour growth.

“We know that radiation is effective in treating brain cancer, but unfortunately the cancer comes back in most of the patients. So by adding this drug to the radiation, we are hoping to improve the outcome of patients by increasing the damage to the tumours,” said Dr Khasraw.

According to the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, the impact of unmethylated glioblastoma on patients and their families is far-reaching, and by considering the potential effect of veliparib, the study will explore a promising set of biomarkers in the hope to help patients and ultimately revolutionise glioblastoma treatment paradigms in the future.

Speaking to the trial, QLD Cure Brain Cancer Foundation representative, Ms Lyn Moorfoot said the VERTU trial represents part of the biggest injection of funding for brain cancer trials in Australia to date, with clinical trials such as this, the best way for patients to access new treatments earlier.

“We are committed to bringing new clinical trials to Australian patients as they are available globally and VERTU is part of it,” Ms Moorfoot said.

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