May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. In the United States, an estimated 700,000 people are living with a primary brain tumor and 79,000 more will be diagnosed this year. Gliomas (such as Glioblastoma or GBM) are the most prevalent type of malignant brain tumors, making-up 74.6% of all malignant brain tumors. Regrettably, without further research patients with GBM typically have a median survival rate of 15 months and 90% of patients experience recurrence of the disease.
At Immunomic, we are researching new treatment options for patients diagnosed with GBM. Our investigational nucleic acid-based immunotherapy platform, LAMP-Vax, is being combined with proprietary cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunotherapy platform developed Duke University by Drs. John Sampson and Duane A. Mitchell. It is thought that this approach could harness the body’s immune system to recognize, attack and destroy tumor cells that express CMV, which is over-expressed in a variety of human cancers, including GBM.
While the research looks promising, clinical trials are only available in Florida and North Carolina. As a part of our commitment to patients, Immunomic is sponsoring a patient travel fund to help clinical trial patients travel to the University of Florida and Duke University. The travel fund is aimed at enrolled patients who live more than 100 miles away from our Florida and North Carolina trial sites. For those patients and a caregiver, roundtrip flights, hotel accommodations and car rentals will be covered by the Immunomic travel fund for the entirety of their treatment.
Throughout May we will continue to raise awareness about the important need for brain tumor treatments and continue pursuing improved GBM treatment options. For updates about our research please visit: www.immunomix.com.