From bench to the clinic: gamma-linolenic acid therapy of human gliomas.
Malignant gliomas are among the most devastating of cancers and are a major cause of mortality in a young population with a median survival time of 9 months following cytoreductive surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Recent studies showed that polyunsaturated fatty acids especially gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) have selective tumoricidal action especially against malignant glioma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Limited open label clinical studies showed that intratumoral injection/infusion of GLA is safe and effective against malignant gliomas. In view of this, large-scale, double blind studies are needed to establish the usefulness of GLA in the treatment of malignant brain tumors.
Das
Undurti N
UN
UND Life Sciences, 1083 Main Street, Walpole, MA 02081, USA. undurti@hotmail.com [corrected]
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D017965:gamma-Linolenic Acid