Brain Tumor Action Week Pushes Disease Into Spotlight; Advances in Biotechnology Yield Promising Brain Tumor Treatments
According to the NABTC, each year more than 185,000 people in the United States and 10,000 Canadians will be diagnosed with a primary or metastatic brain tumor. Brain tumors are now the leading cause of cancer death in children under the age of 20 and are the third leading cause of cancer death in young adults ages 20 to 39.
Metastatic brain tumors (cancer that spreads from other parts of the body to the brain) occur at some point in 20 to 40% of people with cancer and are the most common type of brain tumor. Approximately 350,000 individuals are living with the diagnosis of a brain tumor in the United States and Canada.
In recent years, scientific research has yielded a number of promising cancer treatments. One of the most promising cancer therapies may be the use of monoclonal antibodies with radioactive isotopes that aggressively attack tumors while causing patients fewer side effects than conventional treatments such as chemotherapy.
Cotara™, a Tumor Necrosis Therapy (TNT) drug developed by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:PPHM), is an example of this technology. The drug uses radiation to kill tumors from the inside out, like a "smart bomb," leaving the surrounding healthy tissue largely unharmed.
Cotara is currently in a multi-center Phase II clinical study for the treatment of brain cancer and has received fast track and orphan drug status from the Food and Drug Administration for this disease.
VisualsB-roll includes Cotara patient and doctor interviews, animated graphic of how drug targets tumor; clips with/without V/O, with/without NAT sound. Interviews with patients, physicians and Peregrine executives can be arranged.
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Pam Lord, 858/860-0266 ext. 103
plord@irpr.com
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