Human neural stem cell transplantation in ALS: initial results from a phase I trial.

BACKGROUND: We report the initial results from a phase I clinical trial for ALS. We transplanted GMP-grade, fetal human neural stem cells from natural in utero death (hNSCs) into the anterior horns of the spinal cord to test for the safety of both cells and neurosurgical procedures in these patients. The trial was approved by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and the competent Ethics Committees and was monitored by an external Safety Board. METHODS: Six non-ambulatory patients were treated. Three of them received 3 unilateral hNSCs microinjections into the lumbar cord tract, while the remaining ones received bilateral (n = 3 + 3) microinjections. None manifested severe adverse events related to the treatment, even though nearly 5 times more cells were injected in the patients receiving bilateral implants and a much milder immune-suppression regimen was used as compared to previous trials. RESULTS: No increase of disease progression due to the treatment was observed for up to18 months after surgery. Rather, two patients showed a transitory improvement of the subscore ambulation on the ALS-FRS-R scale (from 1 to 2). A third patient showed improvement of the MRC score for tibialis anterior, which persisted for as long as 7 months. The latter and two additional patients refused PEG and invasive ventilation and died 8 months after surgery due to the progression of respiratory failure. The autopsies confirmed that this was related to the evolution of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a safe cell therapy approach that will allow for the treatment of larger pools of patients for later-phase ALS clinical trials, while warranting good reproducibility. These can now be carried out under more standardized conditions, based on a more homogenous repertoire of clinical grade hNSCs. The use of brain tissue from natural miscarriages eliminates the ethical concerns that may arise from the use of fetal material. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT:2009-014484-39 .

Treatment of recurrent glioblastoma with stereotactic radiotherapy: long-term results of a mono-institutional trial.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Few clinical data exist concerning normal brain tissue tolerance to re-irradiation. The present study evaluated long-term outcome of 22 recurrent glioblastoma patients re-irradiated with radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. METHODS: Twenty-two patients were treated with radiosurgery (13, 59%) or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (9, 41%) for 24 lesions of recurrent glioblastoma. The male/female ratio was 14:8, median age 55 years (range, 27-81), and median Karnofsky performance status 90 (range, 70-100). The majority of the cases (77%) was in recursive partitioning analysis classes III or IV Radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy was chosen according to lesion size and location. RESULTS: Median time between primary radiotherapy and re-irradiation was 9 months. Median doses were 17 Gy and 30 Gy, whereas median cumulative normalized total dose was 141 Gy and 98 Gy for radiosurgery and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, respectively. All patients submitted to radiosurgery had a cumulative normalized total dose of more than 100 Gy, whereas only a few (44%) of fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy patients had a cumulative normalized total dose exceeding 100 Gy. Median follow-up from re-irradiation was 54 months. At the time of analysis, all patients had died. After re-irradiation, 1 (4%) lesion was in partial remission, 16 (67%) lesions were stable, and the remaining 7 (29%) were in progression. Median duration of response was 6 months, and median survival from re-irradiation 11 months. Three of 13 (23%) patients submitted to radiosurgery developed asymptomatic brain radionecrosis. The cumulative normalized total dose for the 3 patients was 122 Gy, 124 Gy, and 141 Gy, respectively. In one case, the volume of the lesion was large (14 cc), and in the other 2 the interval between the first and second cycle of radiotherapy was short (5 months). CONCLUSIONS: Re-irradiation with radiosurgery and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy is feasible and effective in recurrent glioblastoma patients. Apart from the importance of an accurate patient selection, cumulative radiotherapy dose and a correct indication for radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy must be taken into account to avoid brain toxicity.

LINAC-based radiosurgery for melanoma, sarcoma and renal cell carcinoma brain metastases.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to report response, overall survival (OS) and toxicity in patients with radioresistant brain metastases (BM) treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). METHODS: Patients with renal cell carcinoma, melanoma and sarcoma with one to four brain metastases received SRS without whole brain radiotherapy. RESULTS: Fifty patients with 77 BM were treated. 46 (92%) patients with 71 BM were evaluable. Median follow-up was 67 months and median OS 11.8 months. At the time of analysis all patients had died. Brain control was conditioned by response to SRS (P<0.0001), while OS by histology (renal cell carcinoma versus melanoma and sarcoma) (P=0.04) and status of the tumour outside the brain (P=0.05). Treatment was well tolerated without more than grade 2 acute toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of BM from radioresistant tumors with SRS assures good brain control and OS with low toxicity. Our data suggest a better prognosis associated to renal cell carcinoma histology.

Results from Phase I Clinical Trial with Intraspinal Injection of Neural Stem Cells in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Long-Term Outcome.

The main objective of this phase I trial was to assess the feasibility and safety of microtransplanting human neural stem cell (hNSC) lines into the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Eighteen patients with a definite diagnosis of ALS received microinjections of hNSCs into the gray matter tracts of the lumbar or cervical spinal cord. Patients were monitored before and after transplantation by clinical, psychological, neuroradiological, and neurophysiological assessment. For up to 60 months after surgery, none of the patients manifested severe adverse effects or increased disease progression because of the treatment. Eleven patients died, and two underwent tracheotomy as a result of the natural history of the disease. We detected a transitory decrease in progression of ALS Functional Rating Scale Revised, starting within the first month after surgery and up to 4 months after transplantation. Our results show that transplantation of hNSC is a safe procedure that causes no major deleterious effects over the short or long term. This study is the first example of medical transplantation of a highly standardized cell drug product, which can be reproducibly and stably expanded ex vivo, comprising hNSC that are not immortalized, and are derived from the forebrain of the same two donors throughout this entire study as well as across future trials. Our experimental design provides benefits in terms of enhancing both intra- and interstudy reproducibility and homogeneity. Given the potential therapeutic effects of the hNSCs, our observations support undertaking future phase II clinical studies in which increased cell dosages are studied in larger cohorts of patients. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019;8:887&897.

Palmitoylethanolamide in the Treatment of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: This observational study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide (um-PEA) (Normast®) administration, as add-on therapy for chronic pain, in the management of pain-resistant patients affected by failed back surgery syndrome. METHODS: A total of 35 patients were treated with tapentadol (TPD) and pregabalin (PGB). One month after the start of standard treatment, um-PEA was added for the next two months. Pain was evaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the time of enrollment (T0) and after one (T1), two (T2), and three (T3) months. RESULTS: After the first month with TDP + PGB treatment only, VAS score decreased significantly from 5.7 ± 0.12 at the time of enrollment (T0) to 4.3 ± 0.11 (T1) (p < 0.0001); however, it failed to provide significant subjective improvement in pain symptoms. Addition of um-PEA led to a further and significant decrease in pain intensity, reaching VAS scores of 2.7 ± 0.09 (T2) and 1.7 ± 0.11 (T3, end of treatment) (p < 0.0001) without showing any side effects. CONCLUSIONS: This observational study provides evidence, albeit preliminary, for the efficacy and safety of um-PEA (Normast) as part of a multimodal therapeutic regimen in the treatment of pain-resistant patients suffering from failed back surgery syndrome.

Neural stem cells and glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme represents one of the most common brain cancers with a rather heterogeneous cellular composition, as indicated by the term "multiforme". Recent reports have described the isolation and identification of cancer neural stem cells from human adult glioblastoma multiforme, which possess the capacity to establish, sustain, and expand these tumours, even under the challenging settings posed by serial transplantation experiments. Our study focused on the distribution of neural cancer stem cells inside the tumour. The study is divided into three phases: removal of tumoral specimens in different areas of the tumour (centre, periphery, marginal zone) in an operative room equipped with a 1.5 T scanner; isolation and characterization of neural cancer stem cells from human adult glioblastoma multiforme; identification of neural cancer stem cell distribution inside the tumour.

Reirradiation of brain metastases with radiosurgery.

PURPOSE: To assess the outcome of reirradiation with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) of brain metastases (BM) recurring after whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between September 2001 and October 2008, 69 patients who recurred after WBRT were re-irradiated with SRS using a linear accelerator. The dose prescription was generally chosen according to maximum diameter of the tumor as suggested by Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 90-05 protocol. Patients were stratified by Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), Neurologic Functional Score (NFS), RTOG Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA), Score Index for Radiosurgery (SIR), primary disease, dimension and number of BM, and time to first brain recurrence after WBRT. Response, survival, and toxicity were analyzed. RESULTS: At time of this retrospective analysis all patients had died. The 69 patients reirradiated with SRS had 150 metastases. Median interval between prior WBRT and SRS was 11 months and median SRS prescribed dose was 20 Gy. Response was obtained in 91% of lesions with 1-year local control rate of 74±4%. Significantly longer duration of response was associated with higher doses (≥23 Gy) and response achieved after SRS (complete and partial response better than stable disease). Cause of death was brain failure only in 36 (52%) patients. Median overall survival after reirradiation was 10 months. Variables which significantly conditioned survival were KPS and NFS. Four (6%) patients had asymptomatic radionecrosis that developed prevalently when lesion diameters were larger and cumulative doses exceeded the values recommended by RTOG 90-05 protocol. About three-fourth of the patients had a good KPS and NFS after reirradiation. CONCLUSIONS: Reirradiation of BM with SRS resulted feasible and effective. A correct patient selection and an accurate evaluation of the cumulative irradiation dose were suggested.