A drug that has proven effective in treating breast cancer is now showing promise in addressing breast cancer that has spread to the brain, as well as in treating recurrent glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
This exciting development comes from a recent trial conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio).
The trial, known as a “window-of-opportunity” trial, involved patients who agreed to try a new treatment before undergoing surgery.
The drug in question, sacituzumab govitecan, was found to be well-tolerated and showed early signs of effectiveness for patients whose breast cancer had advanced to the brain.
Brain metastases are a common and severe complication for women with triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease.
Unfortunately, about half of all women with this type of breast cancer will develop brain tumors, and the outlook is grim, with a median survival time of just over seven months.
Dr. Andrew J. Brenner, a leading researcher in neuro-oncology at UT Health San Antonio, explained that while sacituzumab govitecan has been successful in treating breast cancer, its ability to combat brain tumors resulting from breast cancer was uncertain—until now.
The trial demonstrated that the drug could reach high enough concentrations inside brain tumors to potentially benefit patients, all while causing minimal side effects.
Sacituzumab govitecan is a type of drug known as an antibody-drug conjugate. This means it is designed to specifically target and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy cells, unlike traditional chemotherapy.
The drug is effective against tumors that express a protein called TROP-2, which is found in many types of cancer.
The trial included 25 patients who were at least 18 years old and had been diagnosed with either breast cancer that had spread to the brain or recurrent glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer.
Each patient received a single dose of the drug intravenously one day before their tumor was surgically removed, followed by additional doses in a treatment cycle.
The study found that the drug effectively delivered a substance known as SN-38, a topoisomerase inhibitor, into the tumors to help stop their growth, and it did so without causing unexpected side effects.
The results are promising. The researchers concluded that sacituzumab govitecan could achieve sufficient concentrations of SN-38 within brain tumors to offer therapeutic benefits to patients with brain metastases from breast cancer and those with recurrent glioblastoma.
This finding is significant because it suggests a new potential treatment option for two types of brain tumors that are notoriously difficult to treat.
The researchers are now moving forward with a phase 2 clinical trial to further investigate the drug’s effectiveness in treating glioblastoma.
This trial, which is currently in the interim analysis stage, has enrolled 20 patients at various locations, including UT Health San Antonio, Cleveland Clinic, and Texas Oncology in Austin.
Dr. William Kelly, a principal investigator in the phase 2 trial, expressed optimism that this study will provide more insights into the drug’s potential as a treatment for glioblastoma.
The promising results from this trial offer hope for patients suffering from brain tumors resulting from breast cancer and those battling recurrent glioblastoma.
If further studies confirm these findings, sacituzumab govitecan could become an important tool in the fight against these challenging cancers, potentially improving outcomes and extending the lives of patients who currently have very limited treatment options.
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The research findings can be found in Nature Communications.
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