A trial of a new combination of drugs for the treatment of patients with brain cancer has been launched.

Cancer Research UK’s Drug Development Office is funding the trial, which will take place at The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow, the Christie Hospital in Manchester, the Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton.

Patients with glioblastoma that has returned and requires surgery will receive olaparib alongside temozolomide – standard chemotherapy treatment.

Olaparib is one of a new class of drugs called PARP inhibitors and is being developed by AstraZeneca. Glioblastoma is the most common and the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
The researchers hope to show that olaparib will make temozolomide more effective against brain tumour cells. Experiments in the laboratory have been promising but this will be the first time that the combination of olaparib and temozolomide has been trialled in patients.

Lead clinician Professor Anthony Chalmers, of the University of Glasgow and the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, said: “It’s very exciting to launch a trial of a new approach to treat glioblastomas. Once the disease has returned, patients have limited options so there is an urgent need for new treatments.”

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