Name of the Trial
Phase II Study of LY317615 in Patients with Recurrent High-Grade Gliomas (NCI-03-C-0018). See the protocol summary at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/NCI-03-C-0018.

Principal Investigator
Dr. Howard A. Fine, chief of the Neuro-Oncology Branch at NCI's Center for Cancer Research.

Why Is This Trial Important?
Glioma, a type of brain cancer, is the most common primary tumor of the central nervous system. Surgery is often used to treat gliomas. Sometimes, however, surgery fails to cure the disease. In these cases, doctors may turn to radiation or chemotherapy.

A chemotherapy drug known as LY317615 may stop the growth of gliomas by halting blood flow to the tumor, a process called antiangiogenesis. This trial seeks to establish the tumor-fighting ability of LY317615 in patients with high-grade, recurrent gliomas and assess the side effects the drug may have on patients.

"Recurrent malignant glioma is a desperate disease for which there are very few adequate treatments," said Dr. Fine. "This drug could be a highly potent therapy, though, because preclinical studies show that it may have both an indirect antiangiogenic effect as well as a direct cancer-killing effect on gliomas. Early results have already demonstrated the ability of LY317615 to stop the growth and shrink the tumor in some patients.

"Additionally, the trials of LY317615 to date have shown that the agent has minimal side effects," he said.

Who Can Join This Trial?
This trial seeks to enroll 110 patients aged 18 and over with high-grade, recurrent gliomas. See the full list of eligibility criteria for this trial at http://cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/NCI-03-C-0018.

Where Is This Trial Taking Place?
The study is taking place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

Who to Contact
For more information about this study, visit the Neuro-Oncology Branch Web site at http://home.ccr.cancer.gov/nob or call the NCI Clinical Studies Support Center at 1-888-NCI-1937. This call is toll-free and confidential.