NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[Rkmatters]

Yes. But let's keep in mind that at least a 1/4 of patients were enrolled after the WBC change. And, 2/3 are on DCVax-L from the onset, and the PFS events for those patients could be greater than 20+ months, which surpasses current standard of care. It's not as easy as you think to cross that 248 event if the vaccine is effective, which of course I'm expecting it will be. Remember Overlook, one of the earlier sites in the study, stated in their pamphlet that while the study is blinded, they like what they are seeing. Here is what they stated exactly:

Overlook View 2010, See Pg6: Thus far, the vaccine ...is showing promising results, and will help to shape the way brain cancer patients will be treated in the future.

Overlook View page 11:

Brain tumors

ANI’s Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey, jointly led by Michael Gruber, MD (neurology), Brian Beyerl, MD (neurosurgery), and Louis Schwartz, MD (radiation therapy), provides state-of-the-art surgical and medical care for patients with a variety of benign and malignant brain tumors, as well as neurological complications due to cancer elsewhere in the body. The use of MRI with diffusion and perfusion imaging helps to provide detailed, cross- sectional images of the brain, allowing for earlier diagnoses and treatment. Patients requiring brain tumor treatment have access to stereotactic radiosurgery with the CyberKnife® (highly concentrated doses of radiation computer-targeted precisely to selected areas), or image-guided neurosurgery (utilizing MRI or CT scans to assist surgeons in the surgical treatment of tumors). Doctors at the Brain Tumor Center are participating in a clinical trial using an experimental brain tumor vaccine called DCVax- Brain® in an attempt to better treat Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer. Thus far, the vaccine, created by combining tissue from the tumor itself with the patient’s own white blood cells, is showing promising results and will help to shape the way brain-tumor patients will be cared for in the future.

http://www.overlookview.com/wp-content/uploads/archive/nov10.pdf


A sign of efficacy :)

Overlook View 2011, See Pg 45: "We're improving the bell curve of survival".

Raising Hope
at the Brain tumor Center of new Jersey, doctors don’t just hold out hope – they manufacture it.

Brain tumor. Few words feel so sharp to the ears or so heavy to the heart, and with good reason: Brain tumors are frequently aggressive, and until recently there haven’t been many encouraging treatment protocols. But at the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey at Atlantic Neuroscience Institute (ANI), doctors are engaged in promising clinical trials that are changing survival rates.

Overlook has more experience with brain tumors than all other hospitals in the state combined.

“We’re improving the bell curve of survival,” says Brian Beyerl, MD, an attending neurosurgeon at Overlook Medical Center and co-director, with Louis Schwartz, MD, of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Atlantic Health. “It wasn’t too long ago that the majority of brain tumor patients had less than a year to live. Since 2006 there has been a significant improvement outcome due to better surgical and radiation advances, and the advent of Temodar chemotherapy.” diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, combines radiation (within four weeks of surgery), oral chemotherapy (Temodar), and targeted therapy with Avastin and the addition of lithium. Key to determining a treatment plan or trial eligibility is being ableto identify the type and location of the brain tumor, and the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey has the best resources for doing so, from experienced staff to state-of-the-art imaging technologies. “A brain tumor cannot be treated unless we know its pathology,” says Beyerl. “Therapies for malignant tumors vary considerably; some need more radiation, others need more chemotherapy.” Surgical removal of the tumor is always the goal, he adds, “because we get a better prognosis if we can remove the tumor upfront.” At the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey, patients have access to both image-guided neurosurgery (utilizing MRI or CT scans to assist surgeons in the surgical treatment of tumors) and stereotactic radiosurgery with the CyberKnife® (in which highly concentrated doses of radiation are computer-targeted precisely to select areas in the brain).

What’s nudging it along? Tremendous advances in technology and tumor-specific pathway blockers (ie, targeted therapy) enhance doctors’ ability to spare good tissue while targeting brain tumors, explains Michael L. Gruber, MD, a neuro-oncologist at Overlook Medical Center and clinical professor of neurology and neurosurgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. Clinical trials are helping, too. Gruber and Beyerl, together with a multidisciplinary team of specialists at the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey, are providing new therapies. Gruber reports that the team is currently engaged in several promising clinical trials. In the first, patients who have surgery at Overlook for the removal of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, may also receive an experimental brain tumor vaccine called DCVax-Brain. The vaccine, created by combining tissue from the tumor itself with the patient’s own white blood cells, is showing promising results. Patients who have surgery outside of Overlook may be eligible for a polypeptide vaccine, as long as they test positive for a protein called human leukocyte antigen (HLA-1 or HLA-2 positivity). Another protocol, for patients newly diagnosed with a high-grade glioma, combines radiation (within four weeks of surgery), oral chemotherapy (Temodar), and targeted therapy with Avastin and the addition of lithium.

Key to determining a treatment plan or trial eligibility is being able to identify the type and location of the brain tumor, and the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey has the best resources for doing so, from experienced staff to state-of-the-art imaging technologies. “A brain tumor cannot be treated unless we know its pathology,” says Beyerl.
“Therapies for malignant tumors vary considerably; some need more radiation, others need more chemotherapy.” Surgical removal of the tumor is always the goal, he adds, “because we get a better prognosis if we can remove the tumor upfront.” At the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey, patients have access to both image-guided neurosurgery (utilizing MRI or CT scans to assist surgeons in the surgical treatment of tumors) and stereotactic radiosurgery with the CyberKnife® (in which highly concentrated doses of radiation are computer-targeted precisely to select areas in the brain).

Regardless of which treatment plan is selected, Beyerl stresses the importance of patient education. “There are tough decisions to make in the treatment of brain tumors,” he says. “We educate our patients, but we try very hard not to diminish hope. We establish a relationship of trust before surgery. I certainly enjoy being?a surgeon in the operating room, but I especially enjoy the challenge of helping my patients through the most difficult moments of their lives while we treat their brain tumors. I may not always have a cure for their tumor, but I can journey with them and give them reassurance and emotional support.”

That unwavering support—combined with the unparalleled resources of the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey—helps to explain why Overlook has more experience with brain tumors than all other hospitals in the state combined, Gruber reports. “It’s important to go someplace with cutting- edge physicians who are experienced in treating brain tumors and who are involved in clinical research for brain tumors,” he says. “Where you’re treated really does make a difference. Brain tumors are complicated, and patients are much better off going to a Center of Excellence, like we have at Overlook, where all therapies are available in one place and all can be done expeditiously and accurately.”

http://www.overlookview.com/wp-content/uploads/archive/sep11.pdf

Another sign of efficacy :)

Overlook View 2013, See page 12. :). "The study is still open so we don't know the results" continues on to say, "but we like what we're seeing." — Dr. Gruber

“Overlook has more experience with brain tumors than all other hospitals in” New Jersey.

The Center’s highly trained team of specialists includes neurosurgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, neuro- radiologists, neuro-pathologists, neuro-oncologists, and nurse specialists, all working together to offer the latest technologies and treatments. These treatments range from radiation, chemotherapy, and image-guided neurosurgery (utilizing MRI or CT scans to assist in the surgical treatment of tumors) to stereotactic radiosurgery with CyberKnife® (in which highly concentrated doses of radiation are computer-targeted precisely to select areas in the brain). Patients also have access to clinical trials (for more on this, see “Next-Generation Medicine,” below).
“Brain tumors are complicated, and patients do better going to a Center of Excellence, like we have at Overlook, where all therapies are available in one place and all can be done expeditiously and accurately, and with compassion,” says Gruber. “I won’t be happy until we can cure everyone, but there is a lot to be hopeful for. Ten years from now, the picture will look much different than it does today, but even now we can do more for patients than ever before, and patients are so grateful for what we’re able to do.”

Next-Generation Medicine
A CLiNiCAL TRiAL OF A CUTTiNG-EDGE VACCiNE iS PROViDiNG NEW HOPE iN THE TREATMENT OF BRAiN TUMORS.
The Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey, part of the Atlantic Neuroscience Institute and Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Overlook Medical Center, has a long history of providing access to cutting-edge clinical trials. Among the most promising is DCVax-Brain. Overlook has been a major referrer of patients into this study. Patients who have surgery at Overlook for the removal of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, may also receive an experimental brain tumor vaccine called DCVax- Brain. The vaccine is created by combining tissue from the tumor itself with the patient’s own white blood cells. “The study is still open so we don’t yet know the results,” says neuro-oncologist Michael Gruber, MD, Medical Director of the Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey at Overlook Medical Center, “but we like what we’re seeing.”

http://www.overlookview.com/wp-content/uploads/archive/dec13.pdf

Stay long investors!