Biography

Biography: Shripad D. Banavali

Abstract

Early clinical trial results using the βblocker, propranolol for the treatment of advanced angiosarcoma are so positive that an international group of researchers is urging clinicians worldwide to "embrace this new therapeutic option." In early January — after an international clinical trial reported results showing that propranolol and vinblastinebased, metronomic chemotherapy led to a 100% response in 7 patients with inoperable angiosarcoma — propranolol was assigned, orphan drug status in Europe.," This is a major step forward towards the clinical development of propranolol in oncology in Europe and worldwide," study, lead Eddy Pasquier, PhD, from the Centre de Recherche en Cancerologie de Marseille, France, said of the drug's new, status in an email. "Unless patients present with known contraindications to βblockers, this nontoxic drug could benefit the majority of advanced angiosarcoma patients. The study was a collaborative effort between Dr Pasquier and Shripad D. Banavali, MD, professor and head of the Department of Medical and Pediatric Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India. It followed on the heels of their earlier case report of a 69yearold woman with metastatic angiosarcoma who was treated with a combination of metronomic chemotherapy and propranolol. "If successful, betablockade could be the first major advancement in the treatment of angiosarcoma in decades," the researchers said in a report published in November 2015 in JAMA Dermatology.