A new drug trial to treat patients with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and common types of brain cancer, has shown promising results in the early stages. The National Institute for Health and Care Research reports that the drug is derived from olive oil and is a synthetic lipid known as idroxioleic acid (2-OHOA).

The drug is designed to restructure the abnormal membranes of the cancer cells, by blocking the signals that cancerous cells pass on to neighbouring proteins, causing the cancer to grow and spread. The 2-OHOA instead makes the membranes of the cancerous cells act like normal cells.

About 3,200 people are diagnosed with a glioblastoma in the UK every year, and the average survival time from diagnosis is just 12-18 months. Only 25 per cent survive more than one year, and just five per cent survive for five years or more. It is not yet clearly understood what factors influence the survival rate.

There are currently few drugs that are effective for brain tumour treatment, because of the complications of crossing the blood-brain barrier. This is a tightly packed layer of cells that line the blood vessels of the brain and the spinal cord. It’s designed to prevent bacteria and viruses passing from the bloodstream into the central nervous system.

The trial of 2-OHOA was run by the NHS and involved 54 patients with recurrent glioblastoma. The drug is supplied in a sachet and taken with water three times a day. A quarter of those patients treated responded positively to the drug, and one patient lived for more than three years.

The Telegraph reports that the trial was led by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research. A larger phase three trial will now be launched, involving over 200 glioblastoma patients.

Dr Juanita Lopez, a consultant medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation and trial lead, said: “Glioblastoma is an incredibly difficult disease to treat and patients with advanced disease have very poor outcomes, often living for just a year after their diagnosis.”

She added: “There hasn’t been an effective new treatment for this patient group in nearly two decades, so drug development urgently needs to be accelerated. We’re very much looking forward to results from ongoing trials and hope this treatment eventually becomes widely available.”

Dr Michele Afif, CEO at The Brain Tumour Charity, told The Telegraph: “Glioblastomas are notoriously difficult to treat, so any research that paves the way for better treatments of people facing this diagnosis is an important milestone.”

“We welcome phase three clinical trials for those with this devastating disease as there have been so few new treatments in recent years. A crucial part of accelerating a cure for brain tumours is for every patient to have access to a clinical trial.”

“We look forward to following the progress of this novel treatment in the phase three trial and hope it will help the brain tumour community.”

Dr Marianne Baker, the science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK, added: “It’s good news when a new type of cancer treatment shows promise in early-phase clinical trials and moves forward in development, taking it a step closer to the people who need it.”

“It’s exciting to see this particular drug progress to phase 2b/3 studies where researchers are working with larger groups of volunteers who have glioblastoma.”

“This will confirm whether it can benefit them and others like them in the future more than existing therapies can, and with less severe side effects. More research means more treatment options for people with brain tumours and other types of cancer.”

Elsewhere, the University of Bristol reports on another potential treatment for brain tumours. Researchers have discovered that patients who take anti-diabetic drugs known as glitazones had a lower risk of developing primary and secondary brain cancer compared with diabetic patients who took other medications.

The researchers have raised the possibility that the drugs could be repurposed to treat patients who are at a high risk of secondary brain cancers, known as brain metastasis. They were originally developed to treat high cholesterol and diabetes, and are considered safe to use and affordable.

The researchers used primary care records from the UK GP database, which consists of a network of over 2,000 GPs from over 670 practices around the UK. It was found that long-term use of glitazone was associated with reduced risk of primary and secondary brain tumours, compared with patients taking other types of diabetic medications.

Kathreena Kurian, Professor of Neuropathology and Head of the Brain Tumour Research Centre at the University of Bristol and Honorary Consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust, and one of the study’s authors, said:

“The anti-diabetic drugs glitazones could potentially be involved in a pathway which prevents primary brain tumours and brain metastasis in diabetic and other patients. Our research could also be used to better understand pathways which prevent the development of primary brain tumours, such as glioma.”

Yoav Ben-Shlomo, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology in the Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS) and corresponding author, added: “This is the largest study in diabetic patients showing a link between long term glitazone use and decreased primary brain tumour and brain metastasis.

“If our research is validated in larger studies and trials, these drugs could be repurposed to prevent brain metastasis in cancer patients who are at high risk of secondary cancers, such as breast and lung cancer.”

Further research is required involving larger independent datasets to validate the results of this current study. If the results are positive, this could lead to a better understanding of the causes of brain tumours and the development of therapies for the prevention of brain tumours.

If you would like some more information about glioblastoma treatment, please contact Mr George Samandouras of Amethyst Radiotherapy.