New brain cancer vaccine proven to extend survival

A new brain cancer vaccine, which uses materials from the tumors of individual patients, has proven effective at extending the lives of those with glioblastoma multiforme by several months or longer. The multicenter study was conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Case Medical Center in Cleveland and New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. The trial found that when compared to patients treated at the same hospitals who received standard therapy, the survival of patients given the vaccine was extended 47 weeks compared to 32 weeks. Some patients given the vaccine have survived for more than a year. According to UCSF neurosurgeon Andrew Parsa, who led the research, a more extensive clinical trial will be conducted to look at the effectiveness of the vaccine combined with the drug Avastin, the standard therapy for glioblastoma multiforme.