How to Donate to Glioblastoma Research

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center is Accelerating New Therapies for Brain Tumor Patients

Brain tumors encompass a broad spectrum of types, each with unique characteristics, challenges, and treatment considerations. These tumors vary significantly in location, behavior, and underlying factors. In this post, we focus on a specific type of brain tumor: glioblastoma. 

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive, treatment-resistant, and common type of primary brain tumor. As one of the deadliest human cancers, an estimated 250,000 cases of glioblastoma are newly diagnosed each year worldwide, with a current 5-year survival rate of only 6.9 percent. Even after maximal surgical resection, microscopic glioblastoma cells often remain and can grow back over time. To slow their growth, patients are treated with the current standard of care, which consists of temozolomide chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However, the standard treatment is not curative, and most patients will experience tumor recurrence.

Glioblastoma Donations

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center is committed to pushing boundaries in brain cancer research and treatment, conducting cutting-edge, experimental studies never seen before in neuro-oncology. As the world’s most extensive Phase 0 clinical trials program, the Ivy Center is pioneering a novel approach—accelerated, early-phase clinical trials that quickly identify drugs that deliver on their promise while rapidly eliminating those that do not.

Over the past six years, the Ivy Center has engaged more than 3,500 patients with incurable brain tumors, opened 16 new Phase 0 clinical trials, and enrolled 500 patients in clinical trials. You can join Barrow Neurological Foundation in helping the Ivy Center rewrite the narrative of brain cancer research and treatment globally by donating today.

Phase 0 Clinical Trials

In conventional Phase 1, 2, or 3 clinical trials, a patient may be on an experimental drug for months before learning that the therapy is ineffective. The Ivy Center understands that time is the most important commodity for brain cancer patients. Therefore, its Phase 0 clinical trials match patients to first-in-class drug combinations and confirm drug effects within days of exposure rather than months. Patients in a Phase 0 trial are advanced into a therapeutic study arm only if the drug has an effect on their tumor. If the drug isn’t working, the patient can switch to another therapy without losing time or options. This allows them to access individualized treatment in a fraction of the time associated with traditional drug research and development. In addition, most clinical trials at the Ivy Center are precision medicine studies, in which a treatment plan is selected based on the specific molecular composition of the patient’s tumor.

The Ivy Center’s paradigm-shifting model is also attractive to biopharmaceutical companies. They know that when they partner with the Ivy Center, they are partnering with the nation’s largest operative brain tumor program, employing a bold, early-phase clinical trials strategy to identify new therapies rapidly. 

Glioblastoma Research

In June 2024, the Ivy Center announced promising results from a Phase 0/2 “trigger” clinical trial of niraparib in patients with newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma. Dr. Nader Sanai, director of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center and the Francis and Dionne Najafi Chair for Neurosurgical Oncology, presented the results at the Annual Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. 

In approximately 60 percent of glioblastoma tumors, the MGMT promoter is unmethylated, and, for this population, the standard of care first-line chemotherapy, temozolomide, has shown to have limited effect. The Phase 0/2 trial concluded that niraparib achieved pharmacologically relevant concentrations in excess of any other PARP inhibitor in glioblastoma tumor tissue, leading to a median overall survival of 20.3 months, a significant advance beyond the historical control of 12.7 months. 

The positive results of this supported collaborative study between the Ivy Brain Tumor Center and pharmaceutical company GSK have prompted the acceleration of the Gliofocus Study, a global, multi-center, open-label, randomized head-to-head Phase 3 trial that will evaluate niraparib, a PARP1/2 selective inhibitor, in adult patients with newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma compared to temozolomide. The trial is expected to enroll 450 participants at more than 100 clinical sites across 11 countries worldwide.

“This hybrid Phase 0/2 study provides simultaneous biological and clinical data identifying niraparib as a best-in-class brain-penetrant molecule with promising radiosensitizer effects in glioblastoma. In less than two years, from concept to completion, our team at the Ivy Center generated proof-of-concept data in partnership with GSK, and we are now working to deliver a potential new standard of care for MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma patients.” 

-Dr. Nader Sanai

Supporting Brain Cancer Care

Neuro-oncology is a specialized branch of medicine that focuses on diagnosing and treating brain tumors and other central nervous system cancers. Neuro-oncologists specialize in the comprehensive care of patients with brain tumors. They have expertise in understanding the unique characteristics of brain tumors, their behavior, and the complex interactions between the tumor and the nervous system.

Neuro-oncologists within the Ivy Center and the Department of Neuro-Oncology at Barrow access robust scientific and clinical data to tailor individualized patient treatment strategies. They meticulously assess each case, considering tumor type, stage, and patient health to determine the most effective course of action. They closely monitor patients’ progress, promptly addressing any new symptoms or concerns.

Last year, Dr. Yoshie Umemura was appointed Chief Medical Officer of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center and Chief of Neuro-Oncology and the William and Joan Shapiro Chair of Neuro-Oncology at Barrow. As a luminary in the field, she will build on the Ivy Center’s robust clinical trials program and translate those findings directly into patient care. Dr. Umemura is deeply invested in translational brain tumor research—specifically gliomas and glioblastoma—and plans to participate in various clinical trial developments.

“I’m looking forward to combining clinical care and research care and making that bridge more seamless because that is what’s going to expedite clinical research that translates to improving the standard of care for brain tumor patients.” 

Dr. Yoshie Umemura

Brain Tumor Research Headquarters

The under-construction Ivy Brain Tumor Center global headquarters will soon shine as a beacon of hope for brain tumor patients worldwide. The five-story, 75,000-square-foot building will be the world’s largest research center dedicated to brain tumor drug development. Designed to enable cross-disciplinary communication, the facility will provide a technologically advanced home for scientists, investigators, clinicians, and operational staff to focus on treating patients and unraveling this difficult disease. The new headquarters also features a distinct glass façade and, internally, layers of transparent walls that allow patients to see Ivy Center scientists in their laboratories as they actively work toward a cure. 

“Our new home will be the largest dedicated space for brain cancer research worldwide, and it will be committed to the singular goal of finding therapies that work for this patient population.” 

-Dr. Nader Sanai

Donate Today!

Every member of the Ivy Center’s multidisciplinary team—from surgeons and scientists to oncologists and nurses—is focused on finding a cure for brain cancer. Please join them! Donate to glioblastoma research today!