Because the treatments have been well tolerated, dose escalation is continuing. The study is being conducted at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles by lead investigator, Judith Ford, M.D., under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Pharmacyclics and the National Cancer Institute. Xcytrin Injection is a novel drug that augments the activity of radiation via a unique mechanism of action. While radiation therapy alone has been effective at treating cancer patients, it has many limitations, including dose-limiting toxicity to normal surrounding structures. Preclinical and clinical data indicate that Xcytrin, after repeated injections, accumulates selectively in tumors and increases the vulnerability of cancer cells to the damaging effects of radiation or chemotherapy without increasing damage to surrounding healthy cells.
Brain metastases is one of the most common conditions treated with radiation therapy.
There are about 170,000 cases per year and the incidence is increasing. The most common causes of brain metastases are lung and breast cancer. Brain metastases occur when cancer cells spread to the brain and grow, causing major neurologic complications and, in most cases, death. Patients with brain metastases usually suffer serious deterioration of neurocognitive function such as loss of short-term memory, compromised verbal skills and fine motor coordination, and reduction in cognitive performance. Most patients with brain metastases have multiple lesions and are not candidates for surgical resection or radiosurgery.