Brain cancer is a devastating disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite advances in treatment, the majority of patients do not survive beyond five years after diagnosis.

The current standard of care for brain cancer includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, but these treatments can be accompanied by debilitating side effects and often fail to completely eradicate the cancer.

However, a new combination therapy has emerged that shows promise in treating brain cancer patients. This therapy involves using a combination of two drugs, temozolomide and bevacizumab, to target the cancer in a more precise and effective way.

What is Brain Cancer?

Brain cancer is a type of cancer that affects the brain or the surrounding tissues. It can originate in the brain (primary brain cancer) or metastasize from other parts of the body (secondary brain cancer).

Symptoms of brain cancer can vary depending on the location of the tumor, but can include headaches, seizures, dizziness, and changes in vision or hearing.

There are several types of brain cancer, including gliomas, meningiomas, and pituitary tumors. Gliomas are the most common type of brain cancer and originate in the glial cells, which provide support and protection for the neurons.

Meningiomas originate in the meninges, which are the protective layers that cover the brain and spinal cord. Pituitary tumors originate in the pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain that produces hormones.

Current Treatment for Brain Cancer

The current standard of care for brain cancer involves surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Surgery is often the first step in treatment and involves removing as much of the cancer as possible.

However, complete removal of the cancer is often not possible due to the location of the tumor and the potential harm to surrounding brain tissue.

Radiation therapy is often used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells. Radiation can be delivered externally or internally, depending on the location of the tumor.

External beam radiation therapy involves directing high-energy radiation beams at the tumor from outside the body, while internal radiation therapy involves placing radioactive material directly into or near the tumor.

Chemotherapy is also often used to treat brain cancer. Chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill cancer cells, but they can also harm normal cells in the body and cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and hair loss.

The Limitations of Current Treatment

Despite advances in treatment, the majority of brain cancer patients do not survive beyond five years after diagnosis. This is due in part to the limitations of current treatment options.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can be accompanied by debilitating side effects and often fail to completely eradicate the cancer.

One of the reasons why brain cancer is so difficult to treat is because the blood-brain barrier prevents many drugs from entering the brain.

The blood-brain barrier is a protective membrane that surrounds the brain and prevents harmful substances from entering. However, this also makes it difficult for drugs to reach the cancer cells in the brain.

The New Combination Therapy

A new combination therapy has emerged that shows promise in treating brain cancer patients. This therapy involves using a combination of two drugs, temozolomide and bevacizumab, to target the cancer in a more precise and effective way.

Temozolomide is a chemotherapy drug that is often used to treat brain cancer. It works by damaging the DNA of cancer cells, which prevents them from dividing and multiplying.

However, temozolomide is not always effective in killing all of the cancer cells and can be accompanied by side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and fatigue.

Bevacizumab is a drug that targets a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). This protein plays a key role in the growth and spread of cancer cells by promoting the growth of new blood vessels.

Bevacizumab works by blocking the action of VEGF, which prevents the growth of new blood vessels and starves the cancer cells of the nutrients they need to grow and multiply.

When used together, temozolomide and bevacizumab have been shown to be more effective in treating brain cancer than when used alone.

The combination therapy targets the cancer in two different ways, which helps to prevent the cancer from developing resistance to the drugs. Additionally, because bevacizumab targets the blood vessels that feed the cancer cells, it may be able to overcome the limitations of the blood-brain barrier and reach the cancer cells more effectively.

Research on the New Combination Therapy

Several studies have been conducted on the new combination therapy for brain cancer, and the results have been promising.

A clinical trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute found that the combination therapy was more effective in treating glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, than temozolomide alone. The trial involved 637 patients and found that those who received the combination therapy had a longer progression-free survival and overall survival than those who received temozolomide alone.

Another study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that the combination therapy was effective in treating recurrent glioblastoma.

The study involved 82 patients who had previously been treated for glioblastoma and found that those who received the combination therapy had a longer progression-free survival and overall survival than those who received bevacizumab alone.

While these studies have shown promising results, more research is needed to fully understand the effectiveness of the new combination therapy and to determine the optimal dosing and timing of the drugs.

Conclusion

Brain cancer is a devastating disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Despite advances in treatment, the majority of patients do not survive beyond five years after diagnosis.

While more research is needed to fully understand the effectiveness of the new combination therapy, the results so far have been promising and give hope to those who are affected by this disease.