I was saddened to hear that Senator Edward Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant glioma. This is a rare and usually fatal form of cancer with age adjusted five year survival rates of only 9 percent. Gliomas constitute about half of all brain cancers and there has been progress against the disease particularly among children, no thanks to constant critics like Merrill Goozner and Maggie Mahar, both of whom see (without any medical background) see no value in any new cancer drugs. Temodar, the first chemo drug for gliomas that could be taken orally was available in 2000. It was immediately used in the US but rationed in Europe and Canada.
Now it turns out that Avastin, the drug that Goozner and Mahar love to hate shows considerable promise in extending average progression free survival by up to nine months. Contrary to the twisted narrative put forth by critics, the discovery of the off-label use of Avastin for gliomas came from academia without industry funding (which of course Goozner also criticizes...either way industry is damned, pilloried for inventing useless new uses and attacked for not being innovative)
Here's what happened:
"In the pilot study, the researchers found that dual therapy with Avastin and the chemotherapy drug irinotecan either shrank the tumors or restricted their growth in nearly all cases for up to three months longer than comparative therapies. Three months is a significant advance when dealing with these aggressive tumors, Vredenburgh said; common current treatment normally offers only six to 12 weeks of halted growth before the tumor grows and spreads, ultimately destroying cognitive and physical function and leading to death."
Following this discovery, Genentech, Duke University and NIH worked together to conduct an expanded study.. The FDA initially resisted because of side effects such as bleeding, but since 40 percent of all brain cancer patients experience bleeding for a fatal illness the risk seemed worth it (to everyone except Maggie Mahar www.healthbeatblog.org/2008/02/the-wall-street.html
James Vredenburgh, M.D., a brain cancer specialist at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center and lead researcher on the study noted: "Going forward, we will also explore the efficacy of this treatment in newly diagnosed patients," he said. "Ultimately, our hope is that this will offer a real weapon in what is now a very limited arsenal for treating a very challenging cancer."
www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/modules/news/article.php
That includes patients like Senator Kennedy. Let's hope that his doctors rely upon experts like Vredenburgh in making treatment decisions, not cynical second guessers like Goozner and Mahar who would let hatred of drug companies color life and death decisions.
Now it turns out that Avastin, the drug that Goozner and Mahar love to hate shows considerable promise in extending average progression free survival by up to nine months. Contrary to the twisted narrative put forth by critics, the discovery of the off-label use of Avastin for gliomas came from academia without industry funding (which of course Goozner also criticizes...either way industry is damned, pilloried for inventing useless new uses and attacked for not being innovative)
Here's what happened:
"In the pilot study, the researchers found that dual therapy with Avastin and the chemotherapy drug irinotecan either shrank the tumors or restricted their growth in nearly all cases for up to three months longer than comparative therapies. Three months is a significant advance when dealing with these aggressive tumors, Vredenburgh said; common current treatment normally offers only six to 12 weeks of halted growth before the tumor grows and spreads, ultimately destroying cognitive and physical function and leading to death."
Following this discovery, Genentech, Duke University and NIH worked together to conduct an expanded study.. The FDA initially resisted because of side effects such as bleeding, but since 40 percent of all brain cancer patients experience bleeding for a fatal illness the risk seemed worth it (to everyone except Maggie Mahar www.healthbeatblog.org/2008/02/the-wall-street.html
James Vredenburgh, M.D., a brain cancer specialist at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center and lead researcher on the study noted: "Going forward, we will also explore the efficacy of this treatment in newly diagnosed patients," he said. "Ultimately, our hope is that this will offer a real weapon in what is now a very limited arsenal for treating a very challenging cancer."
www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/modules/news/article.php
That includes patients like Senator Kennedy. Let's hope that his doctors rely upon experts like Vredenburgh in making treatment decisions, not cynical second guessers like Goozner and Mahar who would let hatred of drug companies color life and death decisions.
