“Only four (4) U.S. Food & Drug Administration-approved therapies in the last 30 years”

That’s quote from the National Brain Tumor Society website posting regarding “Clinical Trial Endpoints”: http://braintumor.org/advance-research/integrated-initiatives/clinical-trial-endpoints/

 

Does four (4) seem low to you? It seems low to me.

The NBTS posting puts that in perspective: “With nearly 700,000 Americans living with a brain tumor, and only four (4) U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapies in the last 30 years, and no cure – the needs of the brain tumor community are clear. Brain tumor patients need new therapies that will either eradicate their brain tumor or better manage the tumor and its manifestations; as many brain tumor patients also experience adverse changes in their physical, cognitive, and psycho-social well-being which significantly impacts their ability to maintain ‘normal’ lives while receiving treatment.”

A couple of numbers popped out of this paragraph and uncomfortably whacked my eyeballs: “four (4)”, “30 years” and “700,000”.

We continue to spend significant $ (and $$$) on research and have only got four (4) new approved therapies in the last 30 years? What’s going on?

While I’m not smart enough or insightful enough to diagnosis this issue, I think part of it traces to Clifton Leaf’s observation that “the public’s immense investment in research has been badly misspent”. He notes that scientists seldom collaborate and share their data, why new drugs are so, so expensive and why young scientists are “…now abandoning the search for a cure.”

If you want to know more I highly recommend that you read his well-researched and documented book, “The Truth in Small Doses”: http://www.amazon.com/The-Truth-Small-Doses-Cancer/dp/1476739994

At the same time, I am more than glad that the NBTS is attempting to bring all the disparate parties together to, well, work together.

It’s about time.

John

PS - Sorry, I just don't have the energy today to write the right amount of outrage or incredulity into this post. Feel free to add your own.

What Causes Brain Tumors?

I understand that sometimes the best solution to a health problem is to avoid getting it in the first place. For example, it seems like if you eat right and exercise, you reduce your chances of getting a heart attack or diabetes or similarly nasty diseases.

So, I visited several brain tumor sites and searched for the answers to this question: “What causes brain tumors?”

The ABTA website writes about this as “Risk Factors” - http://www.abta.org/brain-tumor-information/risk-factors/  At the top of the list of ABTA cited risk factors is “exposure to ionizing radiation.”

Since I had no idea what “ionizing radiation” is, I googled it and got this definition from the World Health Organization: “Energy emitted from a source is generally referred to as radiation. Examples include heat or light from the sun, microwaves from an oven, X rays from an X-ray tube, and gamma rays from radioactive elements.” See http://www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/about/what_is_ir/en/

This, of course, what got me all hot and bothered about having dental x-rays and you can read my blog posting/rant about that possible correlation with meningioma here -http://johnstumor.blogspot.com/2012/04/dental-x-rays-possible-cause-of.html - because if you’ve had as many bitewing x-rays as I’ve had, your brain is probably hot and bothered, too.

Next, I tried the National Brain Tumor Society’s website: http://www.braintumor.org/  And while I really like the NBTS, I didn’t see anything about how to avoid getting a brain tumor or reducing the risk.

So then I zipped over to the “Cancer Treatment Centers of America” website - http://www.cancercenter.com/ - and learned that “The cause of brain cancer is still largely unknown. Although there are some genetic conditions and environmental factors which may contribute to the development of brain cancer, the risk factors are much less defined for brain cancer than for other cancers in the body.”

This, to me, seems awfully awful. We have lots of brain tumors a year as more that 688,000+ people are grappling with brain tumors in the U.S., let alone all the victims in the rest of the world. http://www.braintumor.org/brain-tumor-information/brain-tumor-information/facts-about-brain-tumors-in-the-us.html

Golly, with that many cases to analyze, interrogate or otherwise manipulate, I thought we’d have a better answer to this seemingly fundamental question.

If you know the answer, or have some clues, please email me. Or, better yet, please tell a high-powered researcher who will actually make use of the information.

John

PS – This all reminds me of Clifton Leaf’s seminal book entitled “The Truth in Small Doses: Why We’re Losing the War on Cancer – and How to Win It.” You can buy it for $12.00 (U.S.) on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Small-Doses-Losing-Cancer-/dp/1476739994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417465491&sr=8-1&keywords=clifton+leaf+the+truth+in+small+doses

Copyright: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_eraxion'>eraxion / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Someone You Should Know: Lisa Peabody, Volunteer Brain Tumor Advocate

I invite you all to read this guest post by Lisa Peabody, a volunteer brain tumor advocate with the National Brain Tumor Society. 

Part of her posting is about her daughter Caroline who received a fatal diagnosis of a brain tumor in her brainstem.

Just as impactful is what she’s done as a result of that tragedy.

Here’s the link: http://blog.braintumor.org/guest-blog-fighting-change/

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.”

The 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting

For those of you particularly interested in topical brain tumor research, here’s a link to an article by Tom Halkin about the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Since this sounds important, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, e.g.

Question: “Was it a BIG meeting?”

Answer: “Yes, with more than 30,000 attendees from across the oncology field, the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Annual Meeting is one of the largest and most important yearly gatherings in the field of cancer research.”

Question:  “Were there lots of important presentations?”

Answer: Yes, the society estimates that it received 5,530 proposed presentations, of which, 2,900 were presented at the meeting as a talk or a poster.

Question: “What was the biggest news?”

Answer:  According to Halkin’s article in the National Brain Tumor Society Website, “Immunotherapies" stole the show.

Question: “How so?”

Answer: “A class of cancer treatment, called immunotherapies, that harness the power of the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells (we will have more about this treatment modality later this month on the blog), were all the rage at ASCO. Much of the buzz was created from results from skin cancer trials, where much of the early studies into the viability of this type of treatment approach have been performed.”

Here’s a link to the NBTS article:  http://blog.braintumor.org/897/

John

PS - Yes, this is a lame picture.