On February 25, 2025 Alpheus Medical, Inc., a private, clinical-stage oncology company pioneering sonodynamic therapy (SDT) for the treatment of solid body cancers, reported the publication of a study in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology showcasing its proprietary SDT treatment in three patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomas that were not candidates for gross total tumor resection (Press release, Alpheus Medical, FEB 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234650557]). The study reported no adverse effects with an immediate positive imaging and histopathological response indicating cancer cell death, with no impact on healthy brain tissue, after a single dose of SDT. The Company shared that it expects to begin a randomized control trial in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma later this year.
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"The early clinical results are very encouraging for advancing treatment options in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, a disease with few effective therapies," commented Walter Stummer, Professor and Director of the Department of Neurosurgery of the University Hospital Münster, Germany, and the senior author of the study. "Sonodynamic therapy’s ability to selectively induce immediate tumor cell death while sparing healthy brain tissue is unprecedented. Additionally, its diffuse nature allows treatment across the entire hemisphere, including the peripheral invasive zone and beyond, a major challenge in neuro-oncology. These factors suggest that SDT could be a significant breakthrough in glioblastoma treatment."
"SDT’s ability to selectively induce immediate tumor cell death while sparing healthy brain tissue is unprecedented."
Alpheus Medical’s novel SDT therapy delivers low-intensity diffuse ultrasound (LIDU) combined with oral 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) to selectively target and destroy cancer cells across the entire brain hemisphere. This non-invasive treatment, performed without the need for imaging or sedation, offers a revolutionary new approach to cancer care in an outpatient setting.
This news builds on the previously presented first-in-human positive results from the Company’s Phase 1/2 trial in recurrent, high-grade glioma patients, a population with very short survival expectancy. The open-label, multicenter study demonstrated a greater than twofold increase in median overall survival and a threefold improvement in progression-free survival for patients treated with SDT, underscoring its potential as a transformative therapy for this aggressive disease.