Brain Cancer Patients Sought for Clinic Trial of Vaccine

Most people diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) die within 15 months of their diagnosis, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Among the 17,000 Americans afflicted each year with the rapid growing brain cancer, Dr. John Abrahams—a neurosurgeon with Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, at 244 Westchester Ave. (White Plains address, West Harrison area)—says only two percent of them survive longer than five years, even if they receive treatment.

Abrahams, 44, who lives in Scarsdale, is a neurosurgeon with the Westchester Brain Tumor Program that is currently looking to recruit newly diagnosed patients in the Hudson Valley to participate in clinical trials of a new vaccine they say can double the life expectancy of GBM patients.

“The vaccine is actually customized for each patient,” said Abrahams, in a press release. 

Early stages of clinical trials have shown that the vaccine has extended survival rates by two or three times when used along with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, according to the release. Typical side effects include soreness at the injection site, joint pain,and low-grade fevers.

The Brain Tumor Program is a collaboration between the Cancer Center at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, and the Westchester Neuroscience Research Foundation, which was founded by Abrahams in 2009. 

“The vaccine is made from the patient’s own cells, taking account what’s unique about that particular tumor," explain Abrahams. "It then stimulates the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cells.” 

The vaccine is made from a heat shock protein, produced by the patient’s immune system and harvested from the tumor itself, according to the release. An agent is added to boost immunological effects, and is then added to the protein to form a mix that is re-injected into the skin—the release says.

The clinical trail—formally named “Protocol C-100-37: PHASE 2, multi-center, single arm investigation of HSPPC-96 vaccine with temolozomide in patients with newly diagnosed GBM,”—is sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco and Agenus, Inc.

For information on participating in the clinical trial, contact Jan Stack at (914) 948-3008 at braintumor@bssny.com