Glioblastoma is one of the most common and aggressive forms of brain cancer, with patients surviving an average of 12-18 months after diagnosis.
And recently, the results of a global clinical trial were published in JAMA Oncology, where scientists concluded that DCVax-L, a vaccine used to treat glioblastoma, may extend life for patients.
Three hundred and thirty-one patients who had undergone surgery participated in the clinical trial, 232 of whom were randomized to the DCVax-L group and the other 99 to the control group.
The investigators wanted to know if there was a relationship between receiving this vaccine and survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and those with recurrence.
As a result, among newly diagnosed patients, those who had received the vaccine (from the time of randomization) had a median survival of 19.3 months, compared with 16.5 months in the control group that received standard care and placebo treatment
Among patients with recurrent glioblastoma, the median survival in the vaccination group was 13.2 months, compared with 7.8 months for controls receiving approved therapies.
Overall, 13 percent of patients survived more than five years after vaccination, compared with 5.7 percent of the control group.
Scientists are encouraged by the results of phase III clinical trial, except that the vaccine still needs to pass a rigorous review and approval before it can be used in more patients.
