Finding Accelerated Strategic Treatments for Glioblastoma Multiforme.
In glioblastoma, gaining time means gaining chances. FASTGBM exists to speed up the path between what science already knows and what reaches the patient.
An infrastructure that brings together clinical data, lab, genetics and AI at the service of the medical team.
A team dedicated to glioblastoma, led by reference hospitals, with data open to the whole community.
In-house analysis engines, powered by AI, that compress into hours or weeks what would take years. It informs; it does not decide.
A tool within reach of the scientific and medical community to accelerate discovery.
Non-profit. Public, private and philanthropic funding, always under public control.
Glioblastoma is the starting point and the test bed. Once validated, the infrastructure opens to all brain tumours.
It is not a drug or a cure. It is a way to unite what is scattered today (clinical data, MRI scans, the tumour's genetics, lab models, literature, trials) and put it to work together, at the service of the medical team and every patient.
The knowledge already exists; FASTGBM helps integrate it so that every case contributes learning for the next one. The decision is always the doctors': the system informs and organises, under human supervision and fully traceable.
It informs; it does not decide. FASTGBM is a research infrastructure. It is not a medical device and does not replace clinical judgement.
FASTGBM proposes gathering, around glioblastoma, a specific research team and the full infrastructure it needs:
One or several reference hospitals, with surgical and research capacity.
Organoids and cultures derived from each patient's tumour, to test the real response to drugs and combinations before deciding.
Neuro-oncology, tumour biology, bioinformatics and data science, working together.
Computing, a single data platform (sample and organoid registry, experiment capture and end-to-end traceability) and the project's own analysis engines.
The ambition is deliberately built from the public sphere: the knowledge each case generates is shared, traceably, in a structured and reusable way (FAIR principles), with the whole scientific and medical community, not kept back. That is why it is not a private product, but an infrastructure of common interest.
We start with glioblastoma because it is the most demanding: what works here works in simpler cases. It is not an end in itself: it is the test bed.
Once validated, the same structure (team, organoids, data and AI) opens to the rest of brain tumours. The infrastructure is the same; only the tumour it is applied to changes. What we build for glioblastoma stays, from then on, at the service of all.
At the core of FASTGBM are human research teams dedicated exclusively to glioblastoma, with every resource within reach. AI and computing amplify their work; they do not replace it.
In the lab, organoids derived from each tumour let the teams test drugs and combinations by trial and error: every test shows what works and, at the very least, what does not. And each result is recorded in a structured, reproducible way and feeds the system automatically, so the next case starts further ahead.
Around those teams, FASTGBM combines medicine, lab, data and AI:
Neuro-oncology, patient data, MRI scans, follow-up.
Organoids and cultures derived from the tumour to test real response to drugs and combinations.
Tumour genomics, biomarkers (MGMT, IDH), transcriptomics.
Literature, trials and up-to-date pharmacological databases.
Integrates all of the above, prioritises hypotheses, detects contradictions and prepares traceable, reviewable reports.
FASTGBM works as a set of specialised analysis engines, each focused on one type of question (combining drugs, learning from patterns, repurposing existing medicines or finding new targets), running in a coordinated way and in parallel. They process in hours or weeks a volume of information that would take a team years, and deliver traceable, reviewable results.
They feed an integrating pipeline that, before accepting any result, runs an adversarial validation of twelve mandatory tests. And an autonomous system keeps refreshing the data so each new case starts further ahead.
The first step of FASTGBM is not to invent a new drug, but to make better use of the ones that can already be prescribed. Many recent advances come from medicines approved for other diseases that turn out to act against glioblastoma (repurposing), and from combinations that attack the tumour on several fronts at once so it cannot escape.
Medicines created for other conditions that show power against glioblastoma. Because they are already approved and prescribable, they shorten the path to the patient.
Instead of a single target, several at once, cornering the tumour so it cannot build resistance. It is one of the most promising strategies in oncology today.
An international adaptive trial that evaluates many drugs and combinations at the same time in glioblastoma, dropping quickly what does not work. Exactly the logic FASTGBM follows.
Learn more →Groups such as Mariano Barbacid's (CNIO) have shown, in laboratory models, that combining drugs to block a tumour at several points can keep it from escaping: a preclinical proof of concept of the same principle FASTGBM aims to bring to glioblastoma.
These are research directions, not treatment advice. Any decision belongs to the medical team, and we always link to the official trials and sources.
The team will seek funding across every avenue (public, private and philanthropic, among others) while the project's control and governance always remain public. Funding is allocated across five blocks:
Neuro-oncology, tumour biology, bioinformatics and data science, dedicated to the project and working together.
Specialised lab technicians and biologists who prepare, maintain and test the models, and safeguard the quality and reproducibility of every experiment.
Culturing organoids derived from each patient's tumour, plus the reagents, drugs and consumables needed to run the response assays.
High-performance computing, secure data storage and the artificial-intelligence models that power the project's analysis engines.
Committees, data protection and traceability, informed consent and regulatory compliance, so that everything is auditable and trustworthy.
The team seeks support across all these avenues. Whatever its origin, control and governance of the project always remain public.
It is a non-profit work in progress: those of us taking part dedicate our time and knowledge without receiving anything in return, so the support of partners and institutions is fundamental in order to move forward.
Horizon Europe, EU Mission on Cancer, EU4Health, ERDF.
ISCIII, PERTE Salud, AGAUR, La Marató de TV3.
AECC, “la Caixa”, FERO, CRIS, Cancer Grand Challenges, Wellcome Trust.
Hospitals and centres that contribute infrastructure and team.
Non-refundable support only, with no control and no ownership.
In-kind support: scientific software, lab and data management platforms, cloud computing or donated tools. Fundamental partners for a non-profit project.
FASTGBM needs people and resources for its teams. These are the fronts already taking shape, so you can see where you might fit. Any help is valid, whatever your field.
You don't need to be a scientist or an expert in anything. There's room for everyone here.
Making a phone call, sharing a post, introducing us to someone, suggesting an idea, lending a few hours or your own experience. Every gesture counts and moves us forward. Technical profiles are very welcome too, but you don't need one to be part of this. If you want to help and don't know where to start, just write to us: we'll find your place together.
Bioinformatics, data science, ML engineering and computing infrastructure.
Help here →Psycho-oncology and support for patients and families.
Help here →Tumour-derived cultures and organoids, drug testing.
Help here →Social media, communication, outreach and content.
Help here →Neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, follow-up and patient data.
Help here →Finding and managing public, private and philanthropic funding.
Help here →Genomics, biomarkers (MGMT, IDH), transcriptomics.
Help here →Support for other families, peer support, logistics.
Help here →Literature, trials and up-to-date pharmacological databases.
Help here →If those of us who are here don't do it, it is hard for anyone to do it in our place. At least, not with this purpose or this dedication. That is why FASTGBM is built by adding up: every contribution (scientific, technical, institutional or supportive) moves it forward.