Despite decades of intense research activity and clinical trials, glioblastoma remains an intractable and lethal disease. The challenges that must be overcome to cure glioblastoma are well known and numerous: tumor heterogeneity and plasticity, therapy-resistant stem cell populations, immune suppression, infiltrative growth, neuronal stimulation, the blood-brain barrier and related drug delivery challenges, and more. The difficulty of obtaining on-treatment and longitudinal biopsies for biomarker discovery and challenges in clinical trial design are additional obstacles to the development of therapies that extend lifespan or even cure this devastating disease.
This November, The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and the Sontag Foundation convened a carefully selected group of researchers in Chicago to tackle the obstacles blocking progress and discuss and design new therapeutic approaches. The workshop—No Stone Unturned: Relentless Pursuit of a Cure for Glioblastoma—included global leaders in glioblastoma research as well as experts from outside the brain tumor world whose platforms, technologies, or fields of inquiry are at the forefront of translational research.
Attendees presented their work and perspectives and participated in panel discussions focusing on identification, validation, and drug discovery for new targets. New collaborations among investigators who attended the workshop are currently under consideration for funding through a targeted RFP put forward by The Mark Foundation and the Sontag Foundation that reflects the foundations’ shared commitment to accelerating progress in the fight against glioblastoma.