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We’re excited to share that Unsha Bakker, Nurse Navigator for the Brain Cancer Support and Solutions Alliance (BCSSA), was recently featured on Head for the Cure's Rare Enough podcast. The BCSSA is a collaborative initiative between the Musella Foundation, Head for the Cure, and Cancer Commons, offering free personalized guidance to brain tumor patients and families. In this episode, Unsha discusses her vital role with the BCSSA, as well as her journey into nursing, the barriers underserved communities face in accessing care, and the human side of nursing. To listen, click here.
This thoughtful and wide-ranging Substack article by Dr. Wafik El-Deiry is worth a read. Reflecting on a recent interview with Senator Bill Cassidy, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mark Halperin, Dr. El-Deiry covers topics including the promise and limitations of immunotherapy, the evolution of precision oncology, access disparities in rural America, and the long road of drug development. He gives some great insights on where cancer care is headed—and what still stands in the way.
The annual Tumor Takedown fundraiser is taking place again in Cape Coral, Florida this Saturday, July 19th at 5pm ET. This event is put on by Zachary and Morgan, brain tumor survivors and thrivers, to raise local awareness for brain cancer. All proceeds go to the Musella Foundation for brain tumor research! For more info, click here.
We gave a grant last year for a preclinical project exploring heat-sensitive liposomes (Thermodox®) combined with laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT). This year, we awarded a $50,000 grant to Dr. Brice Martin to at Weill Cornell to investigate low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) + Thermadox® for diffuse midline glioma (DMG). The special heat-activated chemotherapy formulation of Thermodox® helps bypass the blood brain barrier and deliver targeted therapy directly to the tumor site. This approach could significantly improve the safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy, and our support will help build the preclinical groundwork needed to move this technology into human trials for GBM and DMG.
This is an interesting drug combination strategy aimed at enhancing standard of care for glioblastoma (GBM) by targeting multiple pathways involved in tumor growth. Like the earlier CUSP9v3 protocol, AVRO proposed repurposing well-tolerated, FDA-approved non-oncology drugs based on preclinical evidence of GBM inhibition. The article mentions potential interaction between levetiracetam (Keppra) and vortioxetine/olanzapine and thus mentions lacosamide (Vimpat) may be a preferable seizure prophylaxis for patients under the AVRO regime.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) has been explored for decades in brain tumor imaging, but clinical adoption has been limited due to long scan times and low signal clarity. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently reported a novel MRSI technique that combines ultrafast data acquisition with machine learning-powered image reconstruction. Their method reduces whole-brain scan time to just 12.5 minutes while significantly enhancing image resolution and metabolite signal quality—making metabolic imaging much more feasible in clinical workflows. Other leading centers, including Cornell, Emory, and the University of Miami, are also advancing MRSI technology, and we hope to see this translate to improved routine clinical care for glioma patients.
The University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee is hosting a paid virtual discussion for caregivers of individuals that have been diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM). The purpose of the meeting is to specifically focus on the opinions caregivers have on a clinical trial to offer a new surgical intervention in order to improve quality of life after diagnosis. It will be a one-time, 2-hour virtual meeting via Zoom, and participants will be compensated with a $66 e-gift card. To fill out an interest survey for the discussion, click here!
Our brain tumor treatment copay assistance program is now open to new (and renewal) patients again. This program can help cover: Optune, Avastin, Temodar, and Gleostine and their generics. If you think you may need help, apply ASAP as the program might not be open too long. Go to braintumorcopays.org for details and to apply!
The webinar we had scheduled for today ("Integrative Medicine for Patients with Primary Brain Tumors" on Wednesday, June 25) has been postponed - we will announce the new date soon! Apologies to all who had planned to attend!
Join us for our webinar this Wednesday, June 25th at 8pm ET with Dr. Nicholas Butowski. The topic is "Integrative Medicine for Patients with Primary Brain Tumors"
A large molecular analysis of 3,106 glioblastoma (GBM) tumor samples - including 571 from patients treated with bevacizumab (Avastin) - found that CDK4 amplification is a potential biomarker to identify patients who may derive prolonged benefit from bevacizumab. For more information on bevacizumab, you can visit our website!
Mark your calendars! Our next webinar is coming up on June 25, 2025 at 8pm ET with Dr. Nicholas Butowski on "Integrative Medicine for Patients with Primary Brain Tumors".
Our friends at the George Bartol Memorial Scholarship Fund are once again granting college scholarships to young adults whose parents have been diagnosed with brain cancer. To qualify, students must be between the ages of 18-23, be a full-time student at a 2 or 4 year university in the USA, and have a parent who has been diagnosed with or passed away from a primary brain tumor. To obtain a copy of the application, please send a message to the George Bartol Memorial Scholarship Fund page on Facebook.
Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a minimally invasive surgical technique that uses laser energy to heat and destroy (ablate) targeted tissue. It has been used in focal epilepsy, brain tumors, and radiation necrosis. The two most commonly used FDA-cleared LITT systems in the U.S. are Visualase and NeuroBlate. The Visualase system just received FDA 510k clearance for its next-generation platform - the Visualase V2 - which includes updates to the system's hardware, software, and workflow. This new version may enhance the precision and usability of LITT and help expand access to this treatment option.
Last year, there was a lot of excitement around CAR T-cell therapy for recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) after a few early trials showed tumors shrinking. Many in the field were cautious, though, because the responses were transient. New results from a Phase 1 dose escalation CAR T trial for recurrent GBM at the University of Pennsylvania are helping to shed light on the potential for this therapy. Using dual-target CAR-T cells designed to hit two proteins found on GBM cells (EGFR and IL13Ra2), researchers saw tumors shrink in 62% of patients (8 of 13) who still had visible disease after surgery. Survival data for all patients treated thus far (n=18) is still accumulating, but several patients in the trial have lived 12 months or longer after receiving treatment, and one patient has had stable disease for over 16 months. The early cohorts in this study received only one CAR T-cell infusion, but future cohorts may receive more than one. There are also plans to investigate this treatment in the newly diagnosed setting. We'll be keeping an eye out for further updates from this study!
An abstract shared recently at the ASCO conference suggests that a new protocol involving the addition of metformin may improve outcomes for patients with newly diagnosed GBM. In this Phase 2 trial in Canada, 50 patients received metformin alongside temozolomide (TMZ) prior to surgery, during an accelerated radiation regimen (60 Gy in 4 weeks), and during 6 cycles of maintenance chemo, and were compared to 50 matched patients who received the standard Stupp protocol. The group treated with the investigational protocol had a significantly longer median survival time - 24.1 months compared to 17.7 months in the standard care group - as well as improved progression-free survival (13.7 months vs 11.0 months). Notably, patients with methylated MGMT tumors who also had a gross total resection saw even more dramatic benefits, with median survival reaching 41.9 months versus 17.8 months in matched controls.
This is interesting preclinical work showing that adding pemigatinib, a FGFR1-3 inhibitor, to tumor-treating fields (TTFields) reduced glioma stem cell (GSC) growth, survival, and clonogenicity in lab models. Adding radiation to the TTFields + pemigatinib combo also appeared to delay DNA damage repair, further enhancing the overall effect in some GSC lines. While this work is still early-stage, it could offer a new angle to overcoming TTFields therapy resistance.
This is for people who live in New York only. If you live elsewhere but know someone living in New York, forward this to them and ask them to do it for you!
It is time sensitive - the NYS legislature closes for the Summer on June 12. We need this done ASAP!
This is from our friends at IHeath and Wellness foundation. They are having a webinar this monday, June 9th at 5pm Eastern time, on pediatric neurofibromatosis. Speakers include Bonnie Kaur, a pediatric neuro-oncologist from New Yor Presbyterian. Go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduwJCvWHNI061Qy4-iA_CSiL-EnPPdf-098BhezmK7xicyFA/viewform for details and to register.
Preclinical studies recently published in Neuro-Oncology showed that an investigational circadian-targeting drug, SHP1705, impaired glioblastoma (GBM) stem cell survival, enhanced response to radiation, and slowed tumor growth in animal models. A phase I trial in healthy volunteers confirmed safety, and there are now plans for an upcoming phase II trial in GBM patients. Researchers are also exploring combinations with other circadian-targeting drugs, which may further improve the potential impact.
