Dr. Priya Kumthekar: Glimpses of Hope for Leptomeningeal Metastases
Episode Notes
What is leptomeningeal disease?
Patient-focused resources on leptomeningeal metastases in MBC
Check out the new MBC Brain Mets website, which includes additional advice from Dr. Kumthekar as well more information on lepto mets in MBC, including treatment options.
Consider joining the Facebook groups: Brain Mets in MBC + Christine as well as MBC trials and innovative treatments
If you are living with HER2+ MBC and are interested in learning more about leptomeningeal metastases, consider reading the posts of Ann Donovan in the FB group She & Us & HER2 which she co-founded with Susan Jacobson. Ann was a tireless patient advocate & survived for 4+ years with HER2+ leptomeningeal disease.
MBC Patient Stories of Lepto: Terri Mattson (AARP)
More about / from Emily Garnett
Her blog Beyond the Pink Ribbon
Her podcast The Intersection of Life and Cancer
Honoring her husband Christian Facing Cancer / Being with Babish
Dr. Kumthekar-led trials on leptomeningeal disease in metastatic breast cancer
Upcoming ANG(Led) Phase 3 trial (NCT03613181) Recruitment will hopefully start soon.
Kumthekar P, Tang S-C, Brenner AJ, et al. (2020) ANG1005, a brain-penetrating peptide–drug conjugate, shows activity in patients with breast cancer with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis and recurrent brain metastases. Clin Cancer Res. 2020;26(12):2789-2799. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-3258
Kumthekar P, Gradishar W, Lin N, et al. (2018) Intrathecal (IT) trastuzumab (T) for the treatment of leptomeningeal disease (LM) in patients (pts) with human epidermal receptor-2 positive (HER2+) cancer: a multicenter phase 1/2 study. Neuro Oncol. 2018;20(suppl 6):vi58. doi:10.1093/neuonc/noy148.234
Other scientific research
(Selected) Case Reports of longer term survival with MBC lepto
Tesolin et al. (2021) Craniospinal irradiation in the treatment of chemotherapy refractory leptomeningeal metastasis from breast cancer: A case report. Cancer Reports doi:10.1002/cnr2.1556
Takanashi T et al. (2019). Durable clinical benefit of letrozole in leptomeningeal metastasis of breast cancer. Int Cancer Conf J. 2019;8(4):146-148. doi:10.1007/s13691-019-00372-8
Almajed, Muneera Majed et al. (2016) “Complete response and long-term survival of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis from breast cancer with maintenance endocrine therapy.” BMJ case reports vol. 2016 bcr2016215525. 2 Jun. 2016, doi:10.1136/bcr-2016-215525
Vincent A et al. (2013) Prolonged Regression of Metastatic Leptomeningeal Breast Cancer That Has Failed Conventional Therapy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.Journal of Breast Cancer 16(1): 122-126. doi:10.4048/jbc.2013.16.1.122
Tham YL et al.(2006). Long-Term Clinical Response in Leptomeningeal Metastases from Breast Cancer Treated with Capecitabine Monotherapy: A Case Report. Clinical Breast Cancer.7(2): 164-166. doi:10.3816/CBC.2006.n.028
Meet the Guests of this Episode
Dr. Priya Kumthekar is a UCNS certified neuro-oncologist from Northwestern University dedicated to patient care and moving the field of brain tumor research forward primarily through her leadership on clinical trials. She is currently involved in and leads many clinical trials including being the overall principal investigator of five investigator initiated treatment trials as well as the site principal investigator (PI) of over a dozen additional collaborative brain tumor treatment trials. Dr. Kumthekar is the planned study chair/overall PI for a multicenter, international breast cancer leptomeningeal clinical trial.
Dr. Kumthekar has also been actively involved in the NCI funded clinical trials for many years. Within the NCTN (National Clinical Trials Network) and serves in leadership roles, particularly with the Alliance for Clinical Trials (Alliance”) for several years. In 2016, Dr. Kumthekar was appointed as the national Executive Officer of Neuro-Oncology at the Alliance. In this role, she oversees the conception and development of clinical trials in these two areas from early phase through registration studies. Dr. Kumthekar has teamed with various scientists both at Northwestern and at other institutions with the goal of using translational research to advance the field. These partnerships allow for cutting edge scientific discoveries to be successfully brought to the clinic for brain tumor patients to benefit.