Brain Cancer Treatment
FDA Drug Approvals & Treatment
Treatment options are limited for recurrent high grade glioma, or HGG.
Current standard of care patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, or GBM, includes surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Approved drug treatments for HGG or GBM include:
- Temozolomide (Temodar). Temozolomide is FDA approved for the treatment of GBM, and AA. In patients with newly diagnosed GBM, temozolomide provided a median survival advantage of 2.5 months when added to surgery and radiation therapy. Source: Temodar prescribing information.
- Bevacizumab (Avastin). FDA granted accelerated approval to bevacizumab for the treatment of recurrent GBM. Thus far, no definitive data have demonstrated that bevacizumab improves disease-related symptoms or survival. Source: Avastin prescribing information.
- Lomustine (CCNU, Ceenu). Lomustine is an anti-cancer chemotherapy that is FDA approved to be used alone or with other drugs to treat recurrent brain cancer. Source: Ceenu prescribing information.
- Carmustine wafer (BCNU, Gliadel). Gliadel is an alkylating agent that is FDA approved for the treatment of newly diagnosed high grade-malignant glioma (HGG) as an adjunct to surgery and radiation and recurrent GBM as an adjunct to surgery. In patients with newly diagnosed HGG, Gliadel showed a 2.3 month improvement in survival. Survival improvement was not statistically significant in the subgroup of patients with GBM. In recurrent high grade glioma there was a median survival advantage of about 1.9 months. Survival prolongation was not observed in patients with pathologic diagnoses other than GBM. Source: Gliadel prescribing information.
Tocagen is developing an investigational therapy to treat recurrent HGG, which is under evaluation in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial, Toca 5. The Toca 5 trial is fully enrolled and not recruiting patients.
See additional brain cancer resources below: