NCCN Updates Guidelines for Central Nervous System (CNS) Cancers

NCCN recently updated the NCCN Guidelines for Central Nervous System (CNS)
Cancers. Important new updates include the recommendation to use bevacizumab
as a single agent for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme in CNS cancers, the
integration of a patient's Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score into
treatment decisions, and an adjusted age range for adjuvant therapy options in
patients with low grade gliomas.

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National
Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces new updates to the NCCN Clinical
Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) for Central Nervous System (CNS) Cancers.
These changes reflect leading developments in the treatment of patients with
central nervous system cancers and represent the standard of clinical policy
in oncology in both community and academic settings.

Primary and metastatic brain tumors are heterogeneous with diverse outcomes
and management strategies. Because of this variability, the NCCN Guidelines
note that prognostic features and treatment options for brain tumors must be
carefully reviewed for each patient.

For patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive
type of primary brain tumor, the updated NCCN Guidelines now recommend
bevacizumab (Avastin(R), Genentech/Roche) as a single agent without irinotecan
(Camptosar(R), Pfizer) for recurrence/salvage therapy. Previously, bevacizumab
was only an option when used in combination with irinotecan.

Another noteworthy change in the updated NCCN Guidelines for patients with
glioblastoma multiforme is the integration of a patient's Karnofsky
Performance Status (KPS) score into the recommendation for adjuvant therapy. A
KPS score is a standard way of measuring the ability of patients to perform
ordinary tasks; the higher the score, the better the patient is able to carry
out daily activities.

The new NCCN Guidelines adjusted the age range for patients with specific low
grade gliomas who may consider fractionated external beam radiation therapy or
chemotherapy as additional options to observation following maximal safe
resection to 40 years and over. Previously, patients 45 and older were
considered candidates for these adjuvant treatment options. For those under
the age of 40, the NCCN Guidelines continue to recommend that patients remain
under observation without any adjuvant therapy.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM) are developed and updated
through an evidence-based process with explicit review of the scientific
evidence integrated with expert judgment by multidisciplinary panels of
physicians from NCCN Member Institutions. The most recent version of this and
all the NCCN Guidelines are available free of charge at NCCN.org.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of
21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the
quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through
the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member
Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the
numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of
high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality
improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice
guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care
decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the
quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can
live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts
General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer
Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney
Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H.
Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL;
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University
Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research
Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman
Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of
Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of
Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center,
Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San
Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor,
MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

For more information on NCCN, please visit NCCN.org.

SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Megan Martin of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, +1-215-690-0576,
martin@nccn.org