Triple Therapy Revs Up Immune System Against Common Brain Tumor

According to a recent study published in the journal PLOS One and conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, a triple therapy for glioblastoma — including two types of immunotherapy and targeted radiation — has significantly prolonged the survival of mice with this type of brain cancer. Mice with implanted, mouse-derived glioblastoma cells lived an average of 67 days after the triple therapy compared with mice that lived 24 days after receiving only two immunotherapies. Additionally, half of the mice who received the triple therapy lived 100 days or more and were protected against further tumors when new cancer cells were re-injected under the animals’ skins. The combination of treatment consists of highly focused radiation therapy targeted specifically to the tumor and strategies that lift the brakes and activate the body’s immune system, allowing anti-cancer drugs to attack the tumor. None of the treatments are new, but were used by the research team to demonstrate the value of combining treatments that augment the immune response against glioblastomas, the most common brain tumor in human adults. To read more about this study, click here.