Towards better treatment of brain tumours

The results of this study by researchers at the UZ Brussels university hospital have just been presented at the annual congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology, held in Barcelona, Spain.

According to the latest clinical trials conducted by the team led by Prof. Bart Neyns, medical oncologist, and Prof. Johnny Duerinck, neurosurgeon, their new treatment can double the survival rate of patients with recurrent malignant brain tumours such as glioblastoma.

This spectacular breakthrough is reported to be made possible by injecting the brain with a combination of two drugs that stimulate the immune system with myeloid dendritic cells, i.e. the body's own cells that boost the immune system against cancer cells.

Unlike traditional blood-based immunotherapy, which only has a beneficial effect in less than 10% of patients, this injection directly into the brain makes it possible to envisage chances of survival that are 50% higher at one year.

As with any clinical trial, caution is called for, as only a limited group of patients have received this new treatment. But as Prof. Neyns points out Neyns: "We believe that these improvements are not purely due to chance."

This is a major Belgian medical breakthrough that is very promising for many patients.