What is glioblastoma ?

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumour. However, not all intracranial tumours are glioblastomas:

  • There is a wide variety of brain tumors, some malignant (cancer) and some benign.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized brain tumors according to their degree of malignancy, from I to VI. Glioblastoma corresponds to stage VI: it is a cancer.
  • It is a degeneration of the cells called astrocytes, which have a role in supporting neurons.

To learn more about glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma

The glioblastoma represents

1

percents of brain tumors

Prevalence

2300

new cases per year worldwide

Glioblastoma diagnosis

How to detect a glioblastoma ?

Very often, it is the general practitioner or the emergency doctor who, after having made an initial diagnosis, will prescribe the following examinations coupled with a consultation with a specialist (neurologists and neurosurgeons):

  • Cerebral scan: this examination allows the tumor to be visualised, its appearance to be described and an idea of the quality of the vessels that irrigate it.
  • MRI: this examination has the same objective as the CT scan but is a little more powerful.
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG): this is used to identify possible epilepsy secondary to the presence of the tumour.
  • Blood tests to assess the impact of the disease on other vital parameters.

The median age at diagnosis is 65 years for men and 67 years for women in 2018.

What are the treatments for glioblastoma?

The first step in treatment is often to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Surgery is almost always followed by radiation. To date, however, the various treatments have not prevented an almost systematic recurrence within 12 months.

The complexity and heterogeneity of glioblastomas have not allowed the emergence of therapeutic innovations in recent years, and their management has remained virtually unchanged for almost twenty years.

Currently, at Defymed and in collaboration with GlioCure, we are working on a treatment solution for glioblastoma.

Treatments of the glioblastoma

ExOlin®

Device for the administration of an anti-tumoral molecule

Principle of ExOlin ®

  • A medical device for the delivery of a peptide targeting glioblastoma tumor cells, currently under development
  • Should allow instant site specific delivery  of the molecule of interest
  • Reduced toxicity of anti-cancer treatments
  • Adaptable to many applications and pathologies, other than glioblastoma, that require physiological delivery of drugs or active ingredients

The primary objective is to improve the quality of life of as many patients as possible, for whom ExOlin® combined with the GC01 peptide, developed by GlioCure, would represent a hope for a more effective therapy

Collaboration with GlioCure About ExOlin®