SAN ANTONIO – Glioblastoma is aggressive and the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. On the latest episode of “The Conversation,” KSAT’s Stephania Jimenez spoke with a local doctor about the disease and a promising new clinical trial for patients.
Watch the full conversation above.
According to the American Brain Tumor Association, more than 12,000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma in the U.S. each year. The disease has claimed the lives of well-known people such as U.S. Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy. In April, singer Michael Bolton revealed that he was diagnosed with glioblastoma.
The most common symptoms include persistent or worsening headaches, seizures, nausea/vomiting, memory loss or confusion and vision or speech problems.
Now, researchers at the Mays Cancer Center are recruiting patients for a study aimed at improving the quality of life for glioblastoma patients.
Dr. Andrew Brenner of UT Health San Antonio said the technology was developed in San Antonio by a group at the university.
“We, as a group, figured out ... how to get liquid radiation into the brain. We developed a custom molecule that grabs the radiation and puts it into these ... little bubbles, and it traps the radiation there,” Brenner explained. “The radiation only travels about two millimeters. And so what that means is we can place it in the brain directly on top of the tumor, and the rest of the normal brain is completely unaffected. So, we can get very high doses to the tumor.”
The ReSPECT-GMB trial is in Phase 2 and currently enrolling patients. For more information and to sign up, click here.
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