Defeat GBM Research Collaborative

This is a youtube video about the Defeat GBM mission.

The video is a bit slow and bit wonky for those of us interested in fast talk and visual action but, at the same time, somehow appropriate.

According to the National Brain Tumor Society website, “Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) research is on the cusp of genetic and molecular discoveries that will forever alter current diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic achievements. A highly aggressive and complex brain tumor type, GBM tumors are also one of the most devastating forms of cancer, affecting thousands of Americans each day.

To address this growing need, the National Brain Tumor Society in 2013 launched the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative, a multi-faceted and concentrated research-based effort, which aims to double the five-year survival rate of GBM patients -- in just five years. The Initiative will drive the advancement of this therapeutic development area to better understand how to combat its resistance and adaptability, and deliver new and effective treatments to improve patient survival.”

2013 National Brain Tumor Society Summit Presentations

I didn’t attend this summit, but wish I did. 

To make up for it, I watched the keynote address from Dr. Webster Cavenee, “…a world renowned researcher and long standing, trusted advisor, from Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the University of California San Diego.” According to the NBTS website he delivered  “…a keynote presentation describing our most innovative strategic research initiative to date, our Defeat GBM Research Collaborative, and the potential for a future global model of integrated brain cancer research.”

His presentation is informative, straight-forward and pretty blunt about the complexity and difficulty of the task at hand. Here’s a link: http://www.braintumor.org/about-us/nbts-summit/

On the same web page is a link to the presentation by Michael Nathanson, Chairman of the NBTS Board of Directors, about work being done by the National Brain Tumor Society,  in which he discussed:

“Our Clinical Trial Endpoints Initiative – a program with the support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aimed at increasing the volume and speed of approvals for new treatment;

Advancing Research to Therapies (ART) for Brain Tumors – a new program aiming to translate laboratory science into commercialized treatments by bringing together researchers, biotech and pharma executives, investors, and patients;

Advocating for Oral Chemotherapy Parity legislation protecting patients from paying out-of-pocket for life-saving treatments just because they are prescribed in pill form; and much more.”

Lastly, the site also provides a link to Summit’s “The State of Research Breakfast” presentation in which experts in the field and National Brain Tumor Society leadership briefed the audience on the “current state of pediatric brain tumor research and the future of our work.”

Tests show woman's brain tumor shrinking after poliovirus injection

That headline, written by Renee Elder of The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), seems like something we’ve read a zillion times only to be disappointed later. This might be different because, as Elder writes, “The same virus that causes paralysis and sometimes death in polio patients may have the potential to cure people with cancerous brain tumors based on early results of a research trial underway at Duke University Medical Center.”

I’m no researcher or medical professional*, but this sounds like (Gadzooks!) something new. 

Here’s the nut of the story from Ms. Elder: “Stephanie Lipscomb, 22, learned that she was nearly cancer-free during a checkup at Duke Cancer Center on Monday -- 14 months after a modified version of the poliovirus was injected into her brain to treat a recurring, aggressive cancer known as glioblastoma.”

Glioblastoma, (“GBM”) for those of you somewhat new to the tragic world of brain tumors is one of the most uncompromising villains of brain tumor. The National Cancer Institute reports that “GBM is one of the most devastating forms of all cancer, with a dismal life expectancy after diagnosis of less than 15 months.” 

In fact earlier this year the National Brain Tumor Society, the largest nonprofit dedicated to the brain tumor community in the United States, announced “the formation of the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative. Defeat GBM is a strategic research initiative, which aims to double the five-year survival rate of patients with glioblastoma multiforme the most common and deadliest form of brain cancer – in just five years.” 

For those of you who, like me, are mathematically challenged, that means stretching the survival rate to thirty months. Given the effectiveness of our current weapons in fighting GBM, that result would be a huge improvement for victims yet, at the same time, seems woefully inadequate.

So when I read this article about a “modified poliovirus” that is seemingly curing a young victim of GBM, I sat up and took notice. If you are similarly interested, here’s a link to the article: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/07/31/4839511/tests-show-womans-brain-tumor.html#storylink=cpy

*I did, though, feel like a professional patient after a series of brain tumor operations and procedures. If you have trouble sleeping, Chief Complaint, Brain Tumor  (http://www.chief-complaint.com/) – a book about my brain tumor journey - might be of some help.

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_21167389_close-up-of-human-hand-holding-pen-examining-x-ray-results.html'>nexusplexus / 123RF Stock Photo</a>