Research scientists in Wellington believe a cocktail of common medicines could hold the key to prolonging the lives of Kiwis with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The Gillies McIndoe Research Institute has just completed the first phase of a clinical trial into glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer with a median survival of 14 to 15 months.
Executive director Dr Swee Tan describes it as "exciting".
"There have been no clinically significant breakthroughs since 2005," he says.
By combining repurposed, off-patent, low-cost medicines like aspirin, the anti-inflammatory celecoxib, diabetes pill metformin, a beta blocker and cilazapril for high blood pressure, patients in the trial lived around five months longer with minimal side effects.
Dr Tan says while the clinical trial is small with just 17 participants, the key trial findings are encouraging.
Thames early childhood teacher Kate Coatsworth, 35, was diagnosed with glioblastoma two-and-a-half years ago while living in Sydney.
She has a mutation gene in her tumour that made her receptive to treatment overseas.
She says New Zealand needs more research and funding for the 350 people a year here diagnosed with brain cancer.
"When you get a diagnosis like I did, you can't work and your job becomes fighting for your life," she says.
"If you are given a tool to fight, why wouldn't you jump at that chance?"
Dr Tan says the seven pills together appear to block the converging pathways of the cancer stem cells, and uses a beehive analogy to describe how it works.
"Instead of going after the worker bees we are going after the queen bees, we are trying to control the queen bees by controlling the regulatory system."
The cost of conventional treatment for glioblastoma is about $60,000 per patient per year, while the cost of this new treatment is about $4000 per patient per year.
Brain cancer survival rates haven't changed for 30 years and patient advocates say research like this is crucial.
"They've got a novel treatment approach, and while it's yet to be proven the way to do that is to confirm it with clinical trials and we're really excited," says Chris Tse, chair of Brain Tumour Support NZ.
He says brain cancer costs more financially per patient than any other cancer as it is highly debilitating and can affect people in the prime of life, with other family members leaving work to become caregivers.
Phase 2 of the trial will test the common drug cocktail on 75 newly diagnosed patients.
The initial work was funded entirely by philanthropy but Gillies McIndoe Research Institute is now seeking funding of $4.8 million over four years for its next round of the trial.
