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Brain tumour immunology and therapy group
Clinical trial

Phase 1B/II clinical trial for glioblastoma

Bortezomib as chemosensitizer for glioblastoma patients with unmethylated MGMT promoter: Phase IB/II clinical trial and mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy

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Achieving durable treatment responses in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) has lagged behind other solid malignancies.  This is particularly striking for the subset of patients harbouring active DNA repair enzyme, MGMT. These patients are particularly resistant to standard of care temozolomide (TMZ) –chemotherapy. Moreover, there is currently no established therapy for relapsed GBM. Thus new treatment options are urgently needed.

With our partners at Haukeland University Hospital (Bergen), Radium University Hospital (Oslo), St Olav´s Hospital (Trondheim), UiT The Artic University of Norway (Tromsø) and international collaborators, our phase 1B/II study will investigate the effect of combining the protease inhibitor Bortezomib (Velcade), in precise schedule timing, to block survival signals and DNA repair, prior to administration of TMZ-chemotherapy in patients with relapsed GBM. Previous trials failed due to inappropriate schedule timing and dosing. In addition, our study addresses the patient group that has particularly poor prognosis and no viable treatment options at relapse.