The latest news:

• SNO Highlights        

  SNO is an amazing meeting. Aside from all of the presentations, I got to meet and talk with many brain tumor researchers and physicians and discuss what they think are the best treatments, what is needed to advance the field, what is slowing down progress and much more.

  We also were able to interact with many other brain tumor nonprofits. There was some resistance in the past to working together but I think the last barriers were recently removed and you are going to see a lot more collaboration now.   We are all about collaboration.  Working together we will be able to accomplish much more than any of us could individually.  
  




• Osteopontin mediates glioblastoma-associated macrophage infiltration and is a potential therapeutic target         This is one of the most important articles of the year. It opens the door for improving response to immunotherapies in brain tumors.
  



• SNO 2018: Trials of Two Oncolytic Viruses for Recurrent Malignant Glioma Are Progressing         2 interesting treatments. Too early to tell how well they are working, as both are just trying to find the right dosage. They both have some long term survivors. Historically, the survival after recurrence for a GBM is about  7 months.  The Polio Virus Vaccine has about 20% of patients alive ranging from 36-73 months. The D2C7-IT trial has about 30% of patients alive, with 2 of them having partial responses and being alive over 8.2 and 34 months.     Disclaimer:  The Musella Foundation has funded both treatments.
  



• Musella Foundation 2018 Highlights         As the year comes to a close, we reflect back on what was accomplished.  This was a really exciting year for brain tumors.  We feel that we are on the cusp of a major breakthrough. Everything is coming together - many clinical trials are reporting long term survivors in a small % of patients.  Our goal is to speed up the approvals for these treatments so doctors can combine them in cocktails and get long term survivors for most  brain tumor patients!
  



• FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to ONC201 for the Treatment of Adult Recurrent H3 K27M-mutant High-Grade Glioma         This is an exciting experimental treatment for gliomas that have the H3 K27M mutation, which is usually found in DIPG, brainstem glioma, Spinal Cord Gliomas, Midline Gliomas, And gliomas in the Thalamus.  The Musella Foundation has been supporting this treatment for years, giving 3 grants to help speed up the development!  
  



• Giving Tuesday! Donate to Musella Foundation        
  



• Mebendazole and radiation in combination increase survival through anticancer mechanisms in an intracranial rodent model of malignant meningioma.         Mebendazole is an old, cheap, easily available drug approved for  treating worm infestations.  This paper (and many others) suggest it might be useful for treatments brain tumors, especially when combined with radiation. This article is about meningiomas but other articles mention GBM and Medulloblastomas!  
  



• The impact of traveling distance and hospital volume on post-surgical outcomes for patients with glioblastoma.         This paper shows that it is worth traveling to a major brain tumor center.
  

BrainTumor Co-Payment Assistance Program Status:

• CLOSED to new applicants