Neurology & Neurosurgery (see more articles like this)

WHAT:  When Port Orange resident, Patrick Brenner, 45, learned that his brain tumor had returned he knew he had limited treatment options.  But, thanks to a new clinical trial at the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, Brenner is getting a second chance at life.  The trial uses scorpion venom protein tagged with radioactive iodine to deliver localized radiation to the tumor cells.  The scorpion venom protein has been found to selectively attach to brain tumor cells, while sparing normal cells.  This appears to be the first time that a therapeutic agent differentiates between normal and cancerous cells.  Traditional treatments like radiation and chemotherapy kill healthy cells in the process of controlling the cancer growth. 

The Florida Hospital Cancer Institute is one of four sites around the country, and the only one in Florida, participating in this clinical trial with TransMolecular, Inc.  131I-TM-601 is TransMolecular’s anti-cancer therapeutic that incorporates a tumor targeting, biologically active and chemically synthesized 36 amino acid peptide derived from a naturally occurring protein found in scorpion venom that is conjugated with a medicinal radioisotope referred to as iodine 131. 

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, it is estimated that 40,900 new cases of primary brain tumors will be diagnosed in 2004, of which approximately 19,000 plus cases will be diagnosed as malignant brain tumors also known as gliomas, the rest are benign and curable.

VISUALS/ I-VIEWS: 

  Video available of Brenner receiving the new cancer treatment using scorpion venom. 
  Interview with Dr. Nick Avgeropoulos, primary investigator on the trial
  Interview with the patient, Patrick Brenner
  B-roll of scorpions