NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[hyperopia]

Nice post longfellow. This landmark trial should set a new standard, and I think part of the reason for the collection of the IDH mutation data is that future trials in Glioblastoma will now be compared to this new standard. This is from the last time the WHO reclassified brain tumors in 2016, but is still relevant:

World Health Organization Reclassification of Brain Tumors Overview & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Why are these changes happening now?
?The World Health Organization sets international standards for how tumors are classified, and in conjunction with leaders in each field, periodically review their classifications to ensure that the latest science is guiding how tumors are defined. Recent findings from brain tumor research studies in the past few years have provided new information on the distinct molecular make-up of many brain tumor types, as well as how some types that look different under a microscope may actually be driven by the same mutations, and thus behave the same way...or, conversely, that two current types look the same under a microscope, but have very different genetic alterations, and thus should be treated differently.

2. Why does it matter how tumors are defined? Why does re-classification matter?
How tumors are classified – or defined, or characterized – has an impact on many different and important aspects of individual, as well as population, health in any given disease area. This includes:

* Care of individual patients – more accurate diagnosis, estimating prognosis, guiding therapy
* Conduct and interpretation of clinical trials – ensure that patients participating in clinical trials are comparable within and across trials
* Stratification for future clinical trials – matching patients by their molecular signatures with target therapies most likely to benefit them
* Getting the right results from scientific experiments – more accurate analysis and understanding of experimental studies in the lab
* Disease epidemiology- better interpretation of population-based disease trends that may help identify causes and risk factors
* Research funding- allocation of resources by governments and health insurers to support health care based on areas of greatest need

http://braintumor.org/wp-content/assets/WHO-Re-Classification-2016_FINAL.pdf