Giving chemotherapy in the morning can extend survival of glioblastoma patients
An aggressive type of brain cancer, glioblastoma has no cure. Patients survive an average of 15 months after diagnosis, with fewer than 10% of patients surviving longer than five years. While researchers are investigating potential new therapies via ongoing clinical trials, a new study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that a minor adjustment to the current standard treatment -; giving chemotherapy in the morning rather than the evening -; could add a few months to patients survival.
The study appears online in the journal Neuro-Oncology Advances.
Average overall survival for all patients in the study was about 15 months after diagnosis. Those receiving the chemotherapy drug temozolomide in the morning had an average overall survival of about 17 months post diagnosis, compared with an average overall survival of about 13½ months for those taking the drug in the evening, a statistically
Chemo for glioblastoma may work better in morning than evening | The Source | Washington University in St Louis
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Brain Tumor Center established at Siteman Cancer Center – Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis
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Summary
Neuro-oncologist Ingo Mellinghoff first became intrigued by scientific questions regarding brain tumors while working in the lab of physician-scientist Charles Sawyers before both came to MSK. Now, Dr. Mellinghoff leads MSK’s Department of Neurology as it deploys innovative technologies to understand how these cancers develop and progress.
When neuro-oncologist Ingo Mellinghoff was named Chair of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Department of Neurology in October 2020, it marked the culmination of a career devoted to studying how cancer affects the brain. Dr. Mellinghoff previously served as Chief of the MSK Brain Tumor Service and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Neurology as well as its Interim Chair. His research laboratory in the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) focuses on how faulty signals in brain cells can lead to the development and growth of brain tumors.