George Kumar Highlights First-Ever Trial Revealing Real-Time Glioma Drug Response
George Kumar, Senior Director at AstraZeneca, shared a post on LinkedIn:
”World-First Trial Unlocks Unprecedented Understanding of Brain Cancer Drug Response
Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre from Australia have pioneered the first clinical trial through the Brain Perioperative platform (BrainPOP), uncovering how a novel therapy works inside gliomas.
The trial tested safusidenib (AB-218/DS-1001b), an oral inhibitor targeting mutant IDH1 (mIDH1), a key driver in low-grade gliomas.
10 patients enrolled; feasibility and safety confirmed.
The study showed on-target activity with reduced tumor 2-hydroxyglutarate, and provided mechanistic insights into tumor biology rarely possible in glioma research.
This approach could transform how we design trials—using paired pre- and post-treatment tumor samples to study real-time drug effects.
Why it matters:
Glioma trials are difficult due to safety and cost challenges. BrainPOP demonstrates that perioperative designs are not only possible but can accelerate biomarker discovery and drug development for brain cancers that desperately need new options.
A major step forward for patients, researchers, and the future of precision neuro-oncology.
Figure Courtesy: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Australia
Read the Full Article.
Brain scans from a patient in the world-first clinical trial, where researchers were able to compare tumour samples taken before treatment (left) and after treatment (right). The pioneering Brain Perioperative clinical trial platform aims to accelerate drug development and improve outcomes for brain cancer patients.”
Title: Perioperative IDH inhibition in treatment-naive IDH-mutant glioma: a pilot trial
Authors: Katharine J. Drummond, Montana Spiteri, Sarah A. Cain, Jordan Jones, Sammy Shaya, Monique Topp, Tianyao Lu, Robert Tobler, Adam L. Valkovic, Zachery Moore, Oluwaseun E. Fatunla, Jurgen Kriel, Joel J. D. Moffet, Heidi McAlpine, Marius Rosier, Hefei Guan, James Dimou, Verena Schadewaldt, Samuel Roberts-Thomson, David McArdle, Elaine Lui, Moritz Voelker-Albert, Simone di Sanzo, Brunda Nijagal, Vinod K. Narayana, Camilla B. Mitchell, Joseph H. A. Vissers, Sean Grimmond, Mark A. Rosenthal, Lucy M. Palmer, Sarah A. Best, Saskia Freytag, James R. Whittle
Read the Full Article in Nature Medicine.
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