CONVECTION-ENHANCED DELIVERY TRIAL FINDINGS PUBLISHED IN THE LANCET
On behalf of Dr. Mark Souweidane and the Children’s Brain Tumor Project, we are proud to announce that the Lancet Oncology has published the highly anticipated results of Dr. Mark Souweidane’s first-ever dose escalation study using convection-enhanced delivery (CED) in patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). The milestone Phase I clinical trial, which investigated the safety of using CED to bypass the blood-brain barrier and administer a drug directly to a brain stem tumor site, resulted in no serious adverse effects and no dose-limiting toxicity; researchers conclude that the technique is safe to use in children.
This publication validates a career-long hypothesis that Dr. Souweidane put forth more than 20 years ago, and was only made possible by the families who entrusted their children in his care by enrolling in the trial, and the donors who have provided the financial support to enable this research (read his inspiring blog here).
The results are so promising, they are expected to eventually change the landscape of future pediatric brain tumor protocols.