Here is the first worldwide news update for March which is #BrainTumourAwarenessMonth

• We begin with a headline grabbing story scorpion venom used in treatment against aggressive brain tumour. This US based research concerns a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy using chlorotoxin (CLTX), a component of scorpion venom, to direct T cells to target brain tumour cells. Researchers commented “Much like a scorpion uses toxin components of its venom to target and kill its prey, we’re using chlorotoxin to direct the T cells to target the tumour cells.” Based on promising findings the study team intends to bring this therapy to patients diagnosed with GBM
• In pharma news Berubicin has been shown to get across the blood brain barrier and kill brain tumour cells not reachable by other therapies so it  may become an effective treatment against GBM
• Also news of a US based GBM immunotherapy trial here
• Very interesting piece asks  ‘Are benign tumours different from cancerous tumours? When it comes to brain tumours the answer is less than clear cut
• UK based pharma company Midatech announces that it has received regulatory and ethics approval to commence a further exploratory Phase I study for its MTX110 drug for diffuse midline glioma brain tumours. This will be conducted at Columbia University in New York
• In wider cancer news hundreds of investigators participating in the Cancer Moonshot SM to accelerate cancer research met recently to provide updates on their progress since the initiative was announced in 2016. Investigators from nine different research networks presented on topics of interest across the Moonshot, such as the tumour microenvironment, novel drug targets, emerging treatment approaches, and data integration and visualizations 

Related Reading

• What is a brain tumour? 
• CAR T cells – exciting area of cancer therapy development 
• What is a clinical trial?

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