Durham, N.C. - The human brain has a natural defense mechanism called the "blood barrier." It's a gate that allows blood into the brain while keeping poisons in the blood from getting through. Until now, this barrier has meant that patients undergoing treatment for brain cancer usually had a poor prognosis. Dr. John Sampson of Duke University Medical Center says there is an experimental new treatment that puts the cancer fighting toxins directly into the brain - behind the blood barrier.

"What we've done is essentially put the drug behind the gate and now the gate works to our benefit, by keeping the drug in the brain." Sampson says there are several advantages:"It allows us to bathe the tumor in much higher doses of toxins, but it also prevents some of the systemic toxicity that you see with other
anti-cancer drugs.
"

This means no more nausea and hair loss, and it means stronger doses, which could mean a better chance of killing cancer cells without harming healthy cells.

"In our pre-clinical models we were able to give 100,000 times the dose of drug using this technique."

Sampson says they are awaiting approval to begin a larger study that could show if the new technique actually does bring a better prognosis for patients with brain cancer.

I'm Tom Britt.

Dr. Sampson says researchers are also working on possible new ways to deliver the treatment without a hospital stay.

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"We hope to eventually deliver this therapy through implantable pumps, so you'll be able to come into the clinic, get a shot in the pump and out you'll go and the therapy will be distributed throughout the brain."