
Mayo Clinic Reports Progress in Treating Aggressive Brain Cancer
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Mayo Clinic is reporting what it describes as a breakthrough in treatment approach for one of the most challenging cancers.
The results of Mayo Clinic's phase 2 study of the use of short-course hypofractionated proton beam therapy incorporating advanced imaging techniques was recently published in The Lancet Oncology. The study involved patients in Minnesota and Arizona, over the age of 65, diagnosed with grade 4 malignant glioblastoma.
A Mayo Clinic news release described glioblastoma as a disease that "invades healthy brain tissue with hair-like tentacles, making surgical removal intricate. It states that standard radiation therapy is also commonly used to treat the brain cancer, "however a limitation is that it also exposes healthy brain tissue to radiation, potentially causing collateral, unintended damage."

According to Mayo Clinic, 56% of the participants in the study of a new treatment approach were alive after 12 months and the median overall survival was just over 13 months.
"As compared to prior phase 3 studies in an older population having a median survival of only six to nine months, these results are promising," says Mayo Clinic radiation oncologist Dr. Sujay Vora. "In some cases, patients with tumors that have favorable genetics lived even longer, with a median survival of 22 months. We are very excited about these results."
Dr. Vora also stated that the use of advanced imaging with the proton beam therapy allowed for the delivery of focused radiation that protects surrounding healthy brain tissue. He indicated that "patients tolerated the treatments well and live longer than we expected."
Mayo Clinic says it is the first clinical trial of its kind investigating the use of the new treatment approach.
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