Median Brain Cancer Survival Doubles in Vaccine Trials

Patients with a lethal form of brain cancer who received Northwest Biotherapeutics’ DCVax-Brain in Phase I and Phase I/II clinical trials had a median survival rate that was more than double the rate for people on the standard treatment.

The testing in glioblastoma multiforme patients began in 2000 and 2003, and long-term data show that their median survival rate is 36.4 months compared with 14.6 months under the standard of care, which may include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

In addition, 84 percent of those who received the personalized vaccine have lived beyond the median survival point; 68 percent have lived more than two years; and 26 percent have lived more than four years. Some patients have survived as long as eight years, the company said.