Dr. Web Cavenee and Dr. Paul Fisher Publish Report Titled “Inhibition of radiation-induced glioblastoma invasion by genetic and pharmacological targeting of MDA-9/Syntenin”

NFCR congratulates Dr. Web Cavenee and Dr. Paul B. Fisher on their discovery of a new pharmacological agent to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the deadliest brain cancer, which they have been developing together with NFCR support.

This new pharmacological agent could – with additional chemistry – lead to a new drug to prevent radiation-induced invasion of GBM cells. The researchers have tested their pharmacological agent in combination with radiation with profound survival benefits in pre-clinical models. Click here to read the full report by the scientists.

Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), focuses on cancer genetics and Web Cavenee Ph.D., Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California at San Diego focuses on GBM. An exciting breakthrough for the treatment of GBM, this is about collaboration between two scientists on opposite coasts and shows how NFCR research may lead to tangible therapies for multiple cancers.

NFCR has been funding Dr. Fisher’s research since 2008, and Dr. Cavenee’s research starting in 2002. “NFCR scientists are making headway in the fight against one of the most aggressive form of cancer, GBM, by working together on vital pre-clinical models,” said Franklin C. Salisbury, Jr., NFCR CEO. “For years, discoveries from NFCR-funded research have led to better treatments today – and this latest discovery by two incredibly talented scientists gives us proof there will be improved therapies for GBM and multiple cancers in the foreseeable future.”

About the Scientists

Dr. Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D. is the Director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine at the VCU School of Medicine and is a professor and Chair of Human and Molecular Genetics at the VCU School of Medicine. Dr. Fisher’s laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular and biochemical basis of cancer etiology and progression with an emphasis on translating this information to develop improved methods for diagnosing, staging and treating cancer. Read more about Dr. Fisher on NFCR’s scientist page and VCU’s website. Dr. Fisher was the Virginia Outstanding Scientist of the Year in 2014.

Dr. Web Cavenee, Ph.D., formerly an NFCR-funded research Fellow and Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) at UCSD, is now Chairman of NFCR’s Scientific Advisory Board and Director of Strategic Alliances, Central Nervous System Tumors at LICR UCSD. His pioneering research has led to groundbreaking discoveries that have fundamentally changed our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive the growth, migration, and survival of glioblastoma multiforme cells—leading to potential new therapeutic approaches for treating GBM. Dr. Cavenee was recently awarded the 2016 Feldman Founder’s Award for Adult Brain Tumor Research from the National Brain Tumor Society. Read more about Dr. Cavenee and the NFCR’s Scientific Advisory Board.