New Research Program on Glioblastoma
The recent death of Beau Biden, son of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, reminds us of what an intractable disease brain cancer is.
Details of his exact diagnosis have not been released but it is probable that Biden succumbed to glioblastoma, a common and fast growing type of brain cancer. Biden was originally diagnosed in 2013. After surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation he entered remission and returned to work. The cancer recurred this spring.
Why aren’t treatments more effective?
One of the principal challenges in treating brain cancers is identifying anti-tumor agents that can cross the blood brain barrier—the natural filter that prevents potential neurotoxins from reaching and damaging the brain. Dr. Beljanski showed that the active compounds in his Pao pereira extract do cross the blood brain barrier and so may exert their anti-tumor effect on brain cancers, including glioblastoma.
The Beljanski Foundation is now sponsoring a new research program focused on providing an improved treatment. The Beljanski Foundation is collaborating with researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) to study the effectiveness of a plant extract, Pao pereira that has been shown to have a broad spectrum of anti-cancer activity. The French scientist Mirko Beljanski, PhD, at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, developed this extract.
Preliminary data from cell-based studies at UCSF are positive. Please help The Beljanski Foundation complete this unique and extraordinary work on natural compounds with anticancer potential.