Glioblastoma (GBM) patient says breakthrough “gives me hope”

Brain Tumour Research

2 min read

A young man who says he is “living on borrowed time” following his diagnosis living with an aggressive brain tumour has welcomed a research breakthrough which could help to improve treatment for the disease.

Charlie Pearson was diagnosed with a grade 2 astrocytoma after suffering a seizure in July 2019. The 26-year-old had surgery and went four years without a recurrence. But in July 2023, he suffered another seizure and was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (GBM). He has since undergone surgery, followed by radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy.

Charlie Pearson following surgery to remove a brain tumour

GBM is an aggressive form of brain cancer which affects around 3,200 adults in the UK every year. The average survival is devastatingly short, just 12-18 months, and treatments, which include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, or a combination of these, have not changed in decades.

But a recent study, published in Cancers, which took place at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Imperial College London has seen researchers discover a drug which could boost the effectiveness of temozolomide to treat GBM.

Scientists discovered that using a drug called FK866, or daporinad, to block the production of a chemical called NAD (which gives cancer cells the high levels of energy they need to grow quickly) boost the effectiveness of temozolomide in both tumour cells in the lab and in mice.

Charlie said: “Having a GBM, which has such a short life expectancy, is such a dire situation to be in, but this research gives me hope. I know this won’t save me, but I hope it will help other people so they can cling onto that. At present, GBM patients don’t live long enough to see the effects of drugs and treatments. That has got to change.”

The research team is now generating more data that could lead to an early phase clinical trial.

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