Study highlights world-first experimental brain cancer treatment
28 February 2025
Peter Mac has welcomed new research published in Nature Medicine today describing the experimental, immunotherapy-based treatment developed by Professor Georgina Long AO to treat a highly aggressive and deadly brain cancer.
The experimental glioblastoma treatment was pioneered by Professor Long, a University of Sydney medical oncologist and Medical Director of the Melanoma Institute Australia, to treat her colleague Professor Richard Scolyer.
“My hypothesis was that we could administer combination immunotherapy as first line treatment before surgery to boost the immune system and activate T-cells to target the brain tumour - an approach I had previously developed successfully in both stage 3 melanoma and melanoma that had spread to the brain,” says Professor Long.
Professor Long says while initial results were exciting, this approach needed to be tested in a clinical trial involving a large number of patients “before anyone could consider it a possible breakthrough”.
“I am delighted to be handing the baton to Dr Jim Whittle, a leading Australian neuro oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Co Head of Research Strategy at the Brain Cancer Centre to commence a broader scientific study to scientifically determine if – and how – this process might work in treating glioblastoma,” Professor Long says.
The one-off experimental treatment has given hope to many patients with glioblastoma, and their families, who are understandably watching closely in anticipation of a broader clinical trial.
Dr Whittle says that it is too soon to provide specifics on entry criteria or when the trial will open to patients but the planning is now underway.
“I want patients and their families to know that there is an army of people out there working incredibly hard to develop new treatments for patients with brain cancer,” Dr Whittle says.
“We are pleased to be able to build on this exciting work by diving into the process of designing a clinical trial, which takes time, care and accuracy.
“When that process is complete, the result will be a world first clinical trial that enables us to thoroughly test the hypothesis against a representative sample of patients,” he says.
Information about currently open brain cancer clinical trials can be found on Peter Mac’s website here, and also on the Brain Cancer Centre’s website here.
Patients with glioblastoma should continue to discuss with their treating team the best treatment options for them.
Read the paper in full here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03512-1