The New York Times, on Tuesday, Nov. 9, selected Drs. John Boockvar and Howard Riina's experimental work with malignant brain tumors for its watch list of noteworthy advances in 2011.
The article appeared in "What's Next," a Science Times anniversary package of stories highlighting the most promising and emerging fields of scientific research.
For this new experimental therapy for glioblastomas, first covered by the New York Times in November 2009, Drs. Boockvar and Riina used a substance called mannitol to open the blood-brain barrier, then injected Avastin directly into the tumor to inhibit its growth. Avastin is normally administered intravenously, but Drs. Boockvar and Riina wanted to see what effect it could have if applied directly to the tumor via microcatheter and at a much higher dose.
In last month's Journal of Neurosurgery, Drs. Boockvar and Riina and colleagues published a report on the first 30 patients to receive this approach. In some patients, especially those who had never been treated with Avastin, the tumors shrank. But the long-term efficacy is still being investigated, and Drs. Boockvar and Riina and currently testing the delivery of other chemotherapy agents using the microcatheter and mannitol combination.
For Dennis Sugrue, the patient featured in the Times article, the treatment has thus far been a success, and he has been able to return to work on a part-time basis.
Dr. Boockvar is an associate professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and director of the brain tumor research laboratory at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; and Dr. Riina is an associate professor of neurological surgery, neurology and radiology at Weill Cornell and the co-director of interventional neuroradiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Our 2009 press release on this study can be found here.