The safety and efficacy of the drug is being evaluated in the phase 1/2 TEM-GBM trial, which includes up to 21 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with an unmethylated MGMT promoter. In order to be eligible for the trial, all patients have had to have undergone complete or partial tumour resection, be eligible for radiotherapy, have a life expectancy of at least six months and a Karnofsky performance score of at least 70.

Overall, the results of this study show that local drug delivery within the tumor mass is a promising approach to overcome the intrinsic GBM therapeutic challenges. Bypassing the BBB allows researchers to increase the number of active molecules that can be explored to defeat this devastating tumor and achieve high local drug concentrations thus maximizing their therapeutic effect. While the number of articles describing the use of local treatments for GBM in preclinical models has increased exponentially since Gliadel®'s approval, the clinical trials have been limited leading to no new local treatments approved for GBM since 1997.

We conducted a computer-assisted literature search of electronic databases for essays that are unique, involve either prospective or retrospective research, and are entirely written and published in English. We examined both observational data and randomized clinical trials. Eighteen studies met the criteria for inclusion. In conclusion, combining immunotherapy with radiochemotherapy and tumor removal is generally possible and safe, and rather effective in the prolongation of survival measures.

A significant difference in OS between high- and low-risk groups was observed in both the training cohort (p < 0.001) and the validation cohorts (p = 0.029 and 0.037). Enrichment analysis of pathways and immune cells and functioning was conducted between the two risk groups. A novel prognostic model for GBM patients was developed based on eight ferroptosis-related genes, suggesting a potential prediction effect of the risk score model in GBM.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Despite multimodality treatment involving surgical resection, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and tumor-treating fields, the median overall survival (OS) after diagnosis is approximately 2 years and the 5-year OS is poor. Considering the poor prognosis, novel treatment strategies are needed, such as immunotherapies, which include chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, vaccine therapy, and oncolytic virus therapy. However, these therapies have not achieved satisfactory outcomes. One reason for this is that these therapies are mainly based on activating T cells and controlling GBM progression. Natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy involves the new feature of recognizing GBM via differing mechanisms from that of T cell-based immunotherapy. In this review, we focused on NK cell-based immunotherapy as a novel GBM treatment strategy.

Glioblastoma, a type of cancer affecting the brain or the spine, is known to be very aggressive and has poor survival rates. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Alea Mills and her team have now identified a vulnerability in this cancer through a mouse model

Je sais qu’il me reste entre 6 et 12 mois à vivre. Je voudrais témoigner sur Konbini sur cette situation inédite qui m’oblige à faire le deuil de moi-même.” Nicolas a alors 43 ans et est atteint d’un glioblastome, un cancer du cerveau incurable. Son témoignage pose indéniablement la question de la fin de vie en France : “Étant donné qu’il n’existe pas de loi en France, je dois sciemment attendre pour bénéficier d’une sédation profonde alors que c’est maintenant, quand je suis en plus ou moins bon état, que je veux partir.”

Cerebral edema is currently controlled by steroids that are highly immunosuppressive and thus, counter the benefit of immunotherapy. Thus, new drugs that control edema safely without causing immunosuppression are urgently needed. New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that the blood pressure drug losartan can prevent immunotherapy-induced edema.

Three subtypes had different prognosis and response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy. A five-gene prognostic model was robust to predict prognosis in GBM as well as pan-cancer. The subtyping and prognostic model may facilitate individualized prognosis management and personalized therapeutic intervention.

The vaccine is made from a patient’s own immune cells (dendritic cells) and antigens from a sample of the patient’s own tumor and was administered by injection in the upper arm, with six treatments in the first year, and two treatments per year for maintenance after that first year. In the Phase III trial of the DCVax®-L, the newly diagnosed patients treated with the vaccine survived for a median of 22.4 months from surgery, and five-year survival was 13%. The subgroup of such newly diagnosed patients who had methylated MGMT gene (about 40% of the patients) had median survival of 33 months from surgery.

The overwhelming focus in drug development for GB has been small molecule chemotherapies or modalities with a similar mechanism: direct interference with cancer cell division. And this hypothesis has been tested in nearly every variation imaginable. Some examples are: small molecule drugs dosed both systemically and locally; reservoirs of carmustine loaded into stiff, biodegradable wafers which were left in tumor resection cavity (Gliadel); light-activated photosensitizing agents combined with a light source added in the brain (photodynamic therapy or PDT); tumor-treating fields, where stimulating with an electric field at 100-300 kHz frequency disrupts cancer cell division4. Not one of these has been a game-changer for GB. Patients and their loved ones (and here I speak from personal experience) deserve better.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary intracranial tumor. Despite modern therapies, it is still fatal with tremendously poor prognosis with a median survival of 14 months. Even though mean survival and progression-free survival (PFS) are considered as primary response measure, it is important to assess the effects of therapies on disease burden and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Changes in quality of life (QoL) indicates the impact of cytotoxic therapy and may aid in defining response in the absence of quantifiable endpoints like tumor regression.

The researchers developed a deep learning model that can accurately estimate the key parameters of tumors and predict the progression of the tumors using multi-sequence MRI data. They applied the model to synthetic tumors to test its capabilities and identify situations where prediction errors are likely to occur. They then applied it to a clinical dataset of five patients diagnosed with GBM.

Researchers analyzed two sets of MRIs from each of five anonymous patients suffering from GBM. The patients underwent extensive MRIs, waited several months, and then received a second set of MRIs. Because these patients, for undisclosed reasons, chose not to receive any treatment or intervention during this time, their MRIs provided the scientists with a unique opportunity to understand how GBM grows when left unchecked. 

The sixth conference of the voluntary organization Glioblastoma.IT ODV, the first in 2023 was held successfully. It saw the participation of about 50 people through the different channels. It was held in Italian. As usual, the question and answer session was very lively. We thank all the participants and in particular Dr. Mariateresa Nardi of the Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV) who spoke to us very clearly about diets useful in the treatment of glioblastoma, the Ketogenic diet but also other important aspects and what the research says. The question and answer session was also very clear and allowed to shed light on some aspects of interest to the participants. For ease of access, we include below the video of the registration for those who have not managed to participate.

Our concerns related to flawed methods to determine the reference standard, ground truth, and how patients were selected in the studies. Many studies did not show whether the algorithms would work in hospitals outside of where the study was performed.

The limited benefits of immunotherapy against glioblastoma (GBM) is closely related to the paucity of T cells in brain tumor bed. Both systemic and local immunosuppression contribute to the deficiency of tumor-infiltrating T cells. However, the current studies focus heavily on the local immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment but not on the co-existence of systemic immunosuppression. Here, we develop a nanostructure named Nano-reshaper to co-encapsulate lymphopenia alleviating agent cannabidiol and lymphocyte recruiting cytokine LIGHT. The results show that Nano-reshaper increases the number of systemic T cells and improves local T-cell recruitment condition, thus greatly increasing T-cell infiltration.

Data from patients in the trial’s second dose cohort, who received a total dose of 88x106 cells, were announced in February 2022.3 Chimeric Therapeutics noted that the administration of the therapy was generally well tolerated in this cohort, and that 2 of the 3 treated patients achieved local disease stability.

Patients with glioblastoma, a devastating brain cancer, receive treatment that frequently leads to the unfortunate side effect of low white blood cell counts that lasts six months to a year. The low numbers of white blood cells are associated with shorter survival — but the specific reason for the prolonged drop in white blood cells and the link with shorter survival has vexed scientists.

The vaccine is made from a patient’s own immune cells (dendritic cells) and antigens from a sample of the patient’s own tumor and was administered by injection in the upper arm, with six treatments in the first year, and two treatments per year for maintenance after that first year.