SAN DIEGO, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the local strides being made in the fight against brain tumors, Mayor Todd Gloria has designated October 30^th thru November 6^th, 2021 as International Brain Tumor Awareness Week in the City of San Diego. Local researchers at Global Cancer Technology are currently executing on promising pre-clinical studies that could provide a new treatment for glioblastoma—an aggressive form of brain cancer—and a pathway to an eventual cure.

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor, representing 48.6-percent of all malignant brain tumors. The cancer kills more than 241,000 people around the world each year, including more than 10,000 Americans, many of whom are diagnosed with just a 16-month life expectancy.

Brain tumors impact thousands of Californians each year, including residents of San Diego. In 2013, veteran San Diego weathercaster and environmental reporter Loren Nancarrow died at age 60 after a 10-month battle with stage three terminal brain cancer. In 2017, local tutu-wearing, marathon-running inspiration Monika Allen died at age 38 after a multi-year battle with brain cancer. President Joe Biden's son Beau Biden and Arizona Senator John McCain also died of glioblastoma in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Despite the death toll, an effective treatment for glioblastoma and other aggressive brain tumors remains elusive.

"We're working hard to change the future for those diagnosed with brain cancer and their families so that we never again mourn the loss of a community member to this disease," said John Clark, CEO of Global Cancer Technology. "The declaration of International Brain Tumor Awareness Week in San Diego helps us to make brain cancer more well-known in the community and shine a spotlight on the need for more intensive research into treatments and possible cures."

Global Cancer Technology and its research partners in California, and across the United States, are currently working on pre-clinical studies of two molecules known as PI3K inhibitors, or Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Cancer cells grow unchecked and can divide infinitely. In healthy cells, P13K keeps cell growth in check with programmed cell death and controlled cell division. Cancer cells have dysfunctional P13K which means that there is no stopping them. The inhibitors that GCT is testing restore "law and order" to cell growth and prevent cancer cells from growing out of control.

The GCT studies are unique in that the molecules involved are small, and able to effectively cross the blood-brain barrier, which larger molecules cannot do. "Since GCT's molecules are small enough to cross that barrier, this means that the therapeutics may actually arrive at the tumors they are intended to fight," said Dr. Karen Newell Rogers, Chief Scientific Consultant at GCT. "So far, the pre-clinical experiments have yielded promising results, and we are encouraged that progress is being made towards finding a viable treatment for glioblastoma."

Clark added, "It is only a matter of time before the brain cancer community finds a way to treat glioblastoma and other forms of aggressive brain cancer. We are fortunate to be at the forefront of this work, and we look forward to the near future when we provide a light at the end of the tunnel for brain cancer patients in San Diego, and throughout the world."

About Global Cancer Technology
Global Cancer Technology (GCT) is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that is pre-revenue and financially operates as a medical technology holding company. GCT holds numerous patents and other assets including licenses to commercialize nanoparticle technology for the treatment of COVID-19, cancer and other diseases requiring targeted therapeutic delivery. In collaboration with highly acclaimed academic institutions such as UCSD and Barrow Neurological Institute, along with recognized industry leaders, GCT aims to make novel therapies available to patients as quickly as possible. The company has already raised $1 million in a private placement. The SEC has recently qualified GCT to commence raising $9 Million under a Reg A+ registration.

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SOURCE Global Cancer Technology