Published on March 24, 2016 in Research, Our Impact
Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going: Past Progress and Future Developments
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common, complex, treatment-resistant, and deadliest type of brain cancer. The pursuit of new and more effective treatments for GBM patients addresses an area of urgent, high-unmet medical need given the lack of effective treatment options currently available. GBM research can also aid research on other brain tumor and cancer types, as well. NBTS launched the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative in early 2013, brining together a team of expert cancer researchers to develop a collaborative infrastructure that enables scientists and clinicians to work together and accelerate progress for patients. Throughout 2013, research teams (making up four “Cores”) were selected and assembled; project plans were finalized; and agreements were put in place with institutions representing these world-class scientists. In 2014, funding initiated and research got underway. Two years into Defeat GBM’s scientific endeavors, the Collaborative is making progress toward its goal of doubling the percentage of GBM patients that survive five years or more.
Introduction
Traditionally, in biomedical research most estimates suggest it takes an average of 12 years to translate an idea, starting with the discovery of a novel target, into a new medicine available for patients.
This, however, does not mean that high-impact science must be resigned to this slow pace. By creating a new model – by changing the way the research enterprise is aligned, incentivized, funded, and managed – the translation of basic discoveries into new treatments can be transformed to a more efficient and effective process.
This is where the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative comes in. The idea is this:
By allowing some of the world’s foremost experts in GBM research – with complementary skill sets – to work together in a structure that allows unprecedented collaboration for the teams to regularly interact; share data, information, and ideas; work on multiple, interrelated projects simultaneously; and push toward a singular goal, we can accelerate the time it takes to produce new and better treatments for GBM patients.
Attribution: Defeat GBM Research Collaborative
Discovery, Progress, and Process Acceleration
To date, the Defeat GBM Research Collaborative’s approach has been validated by successfully accelerating the process from research discovery to drug development by at least 1-2 years. The infrastructure of the Collaborative allowed the immediate translation of pre-published findings from Core 1 (Discovery) to Core 2 (Drug Development).
All told, Defeat GBM has advanced in three key areas:
1. Unparalleled Drug Discovery
Defeat GBM’s “Drug Development” Core has established a drug screening – testing potential new treatments (referred to as “compounds” or “agents”) in laboratory models of tumors – infrastructure that is unrivaled in the brain cancer field:
2. Understanding Tumor-Treatment Resistance
Defeat GBM researchers have been able to identify new ways in which GBM tumor cells escape drugs that should otherwise work against them:
3. Identifying the Role of Tumor Cell Metabolism & Epigenetics in GBM Growth
Cancer has long been recognized as diseases caused by genetic abnormalities. But research is beginning to show that alterations to tumor cell metabolism, as well as changes to the process in which a cell’s DNA sequence is decoded, or read (called transcription), but are NOT linked to changes in actual DNA sequence – so called “epigenetic” changes – can also drive tumor growth:
Moving Forward – Translating Science into Survival
These research leads will advance the field from where it has been. Now the Defeat GBM will have to prioritize the most favorable opportunities on its ‘menu’ of research findings for further study and push toward the clinic. The most promising targets and compounds will be further developed, with the intention of preparing them for evaluation in patients.
Defeat GBM can be made even stronger through your support. National Brain Tumor Society invested in the core infrastructure, but Defeat GBM embraces partners and contributors. We would welcome your interest and support to help propel this initiative forward! Together we CAN achieve our goal.