Cannabinoid-based drug trial for brain tumours launches in Birmingham

A major UK clinical trial of an oral spray containing cannabinoids to treat recurrent glioblastoma has opened in the UK. Funded by The Brain Tumour Charity and coordinated by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at BHP founder-member the University of Birmingham, the three-year phase II trial  will investigate whether combining nabiximols and chemotherapy can help extend the lives of people diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma.

Anyone interested in this study, which is called ARISTOCRAT, should speak to their medical team first to ensure they are eligible to participate.

It will recruit more than 230 glioblastoma patients at 14 NHS hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales in 2023 including Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Liverpool (Wirral), Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Southampton.

Professor Pamela Kearns, Director of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit (CRCTU) at the University of Birmingham, which is co-ordinating the trial, said:

“ARISTOCRAT represents a significant step in our journey towards finding safe and effective treatments for the most aggressive brain tumours. By testing innovative combinations of drugs we hope to improve the outcome for this challenging disease.

“We’re immensely proud to be able to bring this trial to patients with the support of the Brain Tumour Charity and thanks to the generosity of all those who gave to the crowdfunding campaign.”

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer with an average survival of less than 10 months after recurrence.

In 2021, a phase I clinical trial in 27 patients found that nabiximols could be tolerated by patients in combination with chemotherapy, and has the potential to extend the lives of those with recurrent glioblastoma.

Should the trial prove successful, experts hope that nabiximols could represent a new, promising addition to NHS treatment for glioblastoma patients since temozolomide chemotherapy in 2007.

In August 2021, a fundraising appeal by The Brain Tumour Charity, backed by Olympic champion Tom Daley, raised the £450,000 needed for this phase II trial in just three months, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals has generously agreed to provide nabiximols and matched placebo free-of-charge to patients on the ARISTOCRAT trial.

Participants will self-administer nabiximols or a placebo spray and will undergo regular follow-ups with the clinical trial team, including blood tests and MRI scans. This will also be one of the first trials to integrate with The Brain Tumour Charity’s app BRIAN.

Principal Investigator, Professor Susan Short, Professor of Clinical Oncology and Neuro-Oncology at the University of Leeds, said:

“We are very excited to open this trial here in Leeds and very much look forward to running the study which will tell us whether cannabinoid- based drugs could help treat the most aggressive form of brain tumour.

“The treatment of glioblastomas is extremely challenging. Even with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, nearly all of these brain tumours re-grow within a year, and unfortunately there are very few options for patients once this occurs.

“Cannabinoid-based drugs have well-described effects in the brain and there has been a lot of interest in their use across different cancers for a long time now. Glioblastomas have receptors to cannabinoids on their cell surface, and laboratory studies on glioblastoma cells have shown these drugs may slow tumour growth and work particularly well when used with temozolomide.

“We now have the opportunity to take these laboratory results, and those from the phase I trial and investigate whether this drug could help glioblastoma patients live longer in this first-of-a-kind randomised clinical trial.”

How can I take part in the trial?

Your treating oncologist will be aware of the study if it is open in your hospital or can refer you to a treating centre if necessary. Please speak to your treatment team about eligibility for the trial.

For more information visit the ARISTOCRAT web page on the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit website.