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The BTFC is proud to announce a $50,000 grant to fund brain cancer research at Duke University.  Specifically, the project will study individuals diagnosed with high-grade gliomas (HGGS) and the impact of low dose Naltrexone (LDN) on their quality of life (QOL).  Further details are below.

Duke University was one of several elite research universities that applied for the grant.  We are excited about this new relationship with Duke and we are looking forward to making additional grants in 2011.

A. Specific Aims

Individuals who are diagnosed with high-grade gliomas (HGGs) are immediately confronted

with two serious health issues. First, there is a new diagnosis of cancer that will require serious

therapies such as brain surgery, brain irradiation, and chemotherapy. Secondly, they face the

symptoms and signs of neurological dysfunction. Having both immediate oncologic and

neurological concerns is unique to brain tumor patients such that they have more challenges in

their search for a positive and productive quality of life (QOL). In fact, when compared to

matched patients with other types of cancer, HGG patients exhibit more dysfunction with

physical function, neurocognition, and QOL.

are few options to improve QOL, functional capacity, and neurocognition during the course of

treatment for newly diagnosed HGG.

approaches, are needed to treat and evaluate multi-dimensional aspects of QOL. Naltrexone is

a commonly used opioid antagonist, but in very low doses, its action can increase the

expression of opioid receptors and increase met-enkephalin and

signaling changes and endogenous compounds can decrease inflammation, improve mood, and

improve well-being.

as multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia and has been shown to improve QOL.

is well-tolerated at this lower dosage. In light of its utility in other neurological disorders, we

have embarked on a study to evaluate LDN and its effects on QOL in HGG patients. In this

grant proposal, we have designed a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized trial of 72

newly diagnosed postsurgical HGG patients to evaluate if LDN in comparison to placebo can

improve QOL during standard chemoradiation and adjuvant chemotherapy.

likely have farther reaching implications on how we measure QOL and improve QOL in all

cancer patients that are undergoing treatment.