Health Trends

Brain cancer device approved

The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved the NovoTTF-100A System, a new device to treat adults with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) that recurs or progresses after receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Brain tumours are the growth of abnormal cells in the brain tissue.

According to the National Cancer Institute, each year, about 19,000 people in the US are diagnosed with primary brain cancers. In 2010, there were 13,140 deaths from brain and other nervous system cancers in the United States. GBM is the most common primary brain cancer. The brain tumour is highly resistant to standard treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

When using the NovoTTF-100A System, a health-care professional places electrodes on the surface of the patient's scalp to deliver low-intensity, changing electrical fields called 'tumour treatment fields' (TTFs) to the tumour site. The unique shape and electrical characteristics of dividing tumour cells make them susceptible to damage when exposed to TTF, which could stop tumour growth. The device is portable and can be powered with batteries or plugged into an electrical outlet. Patients can use the device at home, allowing them to continue their normal daily activities.

- Source: The US Food and Drug Administration

Rare juvenile arthritis

Actemra (tocilizumab) was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be given alone or in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) in children ages two years and older. SJIA, or Still's disease, is a rare, potentially life-threatening disorder in children that causes severe inflammation throughout the body.

SJIA is distinguished from other forms of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) by the prominence of systemic and inflammatory features, including spiking fevers; rash; swelling and inflammation of lymph nodes, liver, and spleen; and high white blood cell and platelet counts. The prevalence of JIA is an estimated one to two per 1,000 children, and SJIA affects about 10 per cent of all JIA patients.

Actemra is an interleukin-6 receptor blocker approved by the FDA on January 8, 2010, for treatment of adults with moderate to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to other approved therapies.

"This new indication of Actemra provides the first approved therapy for children with this rare disease," said Badrul Chowdhury, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Rheumatology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

- Source: The US Food and Drug Administration