GBM trial to deliver Avastin across BBB
Neurosurgeons have developed and used a novel intra-arterial (IA) technique to deliver Avastin (bevacizumab) directly into a malignant brain tumour, potentially administering a higher dose with reduced toxicity.
The researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center are enrolling patients in to a Phase I study to evaluate the system’s effectiveness at treating glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Current treatments deliver Avastin intravenously but the blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the quantity that reaches the target and harm to healthy cells limits the dosing.
In the new treatment the researchers direct a microcatheter through the carotid artery and into the brain. When the microcatheter reaches the tumour a drug is injected to open the BBB allowing Avastin to be delivered directly to the target region.
