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Each day of research costs £2,740 and your donation will make a real impact, enabling life-saving research into brain tumours and ultimately helping to find a cure for this devastating disease.
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What is glioblastoma and how is it currently treated?
Glioblastoma is the most commonly diagnosed high-grade aggressive adult brain tumour, affecting around 3,200 people in the UK every year. It is incurable and has a devastatingly short average survival of just 12-18 months.
It is notoriously difficult to treat, and even after surgery, some cancer cells remain in the brain, leading to regrowth of the tumour. Once that happens, there is no effective treatment available for patients.
What will the Nottingham Centre set out to achieve?
The Centre aims to investigate these cells located at the edges of the tumour – known as the infiltrative margin – close to healthy brain cells. In the first study of its kind, researchers will combine advanced brain imaging scans performed during surgery and genomic analyses of infiltrative tumour tissue, with mathematical modelling and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to provide predictions for the earliest signs of tumour recurrence based on an individual patient’s data.
When glioblastoma does return, it’s biology is much more similar to the biology of the infiltrative margin compared to other regions of the original tumour. Therefore, the team will focus on identifying drug targets in the infiltrative margin that could stop or delay cancer growth. This will allow for earlier targeted treatment after surgery, before recurrence shows up on regular imaging scans.
The goal is to enable researchers to predict the amount of time until glioblastoma recurrence for each person and then use molecular information to guide personalised surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy approaches, ultimately improving the prognosis and quality of life for patients with glioblastoma.
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Dan Knowles, CEO of Brain Tumour Research:
“We are on the cusp of change – and with your help this new Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Nottingham will play a pivotal role in delivering cutting-edge research to bring about the cure that is so desperately needed. Together, we have the chance to achieve our vision. Together we will find a cure.”
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Professor Ruman Rahman, Principal Investigator at the new Centre in Nottingham:
“We envision a future where, ultimately, brain imaging alone will identify drugs tailored to each individual patient, to block glioblastoma recurrence. This change won’t happen overnight – we need sustained investment in research into brain tumours to do the vital discovery and clinical work to make our vision of a cure for glioblastoma a reality.”
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Verity Phillips, 35-year-old mum of four and glioblastoma patient:
“Glioblastoma is brutal. Like most people diagnosed, I was given just 12 to 18 months to live. I’ve already beaten those odds, but I live from scan to scan, wondering how long I’ll be ‘lucky’ for. I’m a mum to four beautiful children; I want to be here for all the bedtime cuddles, all the silly squabbles and everything in between.
“We need more funding for more research now so that there are better treatments for all the mums who follow; for all those who will hear the words, ‘You have brain cancer’. The Nottingham Centre will be a beacon of hope to glioblastoma patients like me. I know my tumour isn’t going away, but as long as I’m here, I’ll continue to raise awareness and support research until a cure is found.”
