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Alireza Mansouri: Glioblastoma Myths Busted

Alireza Mansouri/LinkedIn

Jul 28, 2025, 11:32

Alireza Mansouri: Glioblastoma Myths Busted

Alireza Mansouri, Associate Professor at Penn State Health, shared a post on X:

“I wanted to evaluate some GBM myths or misinformation out there, using AI.

Data Gathering: I scraped the following platforms

X: Semantic search for “misinformation myths glioblastoma clinical trials” (20 results), yielding posts on trials, cures, and claims (e.g., vaccine links, cannabis).

Reddit: ‘Glioblastoma myths misinformation clinical trials’ (20 results), highlighting user discussions on sugar myths, clinical trial fears, and misdiagnoses.

LinkedIn: ‘Glioblastoma myths misinformation clinical trials’ (15 results), focusing on professional posts about trial myths (e.g., placebos) and cannabinoid hype.

Facebook: ‘Glioblastoma myths misinformation clinical trials’ (15 results), revealing group posts on myths like all tumors being fatal or environmental clusters. Total: ~70 items analyzed for claims.

Claim Extraction: I scanned for sentiments expressing unproven ideas, e.g.:Cure claims (e.g., cannabis, single-shot immunotherapy). Causal links (e.g., COVID vaccines, sugar, MRI exposure). Trial fears (e.g., ‘guinea pigs,’ placebos). Fatalism (e.g., all brain tumors deadly).

Verification and Classification: For each claim, I ran targeted web searches with AI (e.g., ‘debunk [claim]’) to cross-reference with credible sources (e.g., Cancer Research UK, NCI, MD Anderson).

Criteria for misinfo: If peer-reviewed or expert sources state ‘no evidence,’ ‘myth,’ or ‘overhyped,; and no large-scale human trials support it, classify as misinfo. Assumed balanced viewpoints (e.g., academic vs. advocacy sites) to avoid bias.

Found the following themes, which I attempt to address with evidence (where available):

Prevalence: ~25% of data had misinfo sentiments (e.g., 5/20 X posts, 8/20 Reddit). Themes: Alt cures (35%), causes (30%), fatality (20%), trials (15%).

1) Ever heard ‘sugar feeds cancer’ and cut sweets? It is important to know that all cells use sugar (glucose), but eating it doesn’t cause or worsen GBM. Having said that, ketogenic diet has had some evidence as an adjunct to standard of care, not standalone. Focus on a balanced diet instead.

Sources: Cancer Research.

2) COVID vaccine causes brain tumors? So far, no evidence links vaccines to GBM; as far as we know, they are deemed safe for cancer patients. But we need to keep an open mind and evaluate the evidence as it emerges.

3) Weed or cannabis oil cures GBM? Lab tests show promise, but no human cure proven. Don’t ditch standard treatments! From Cancer Research.

4) Clinical trials are ‘last resort’ or use placebos?

Nope! They’re safe advances. You will never have standard of care replaced with sugar pills in cancer studies. Join early for better options. Myths debunked by Dana-Farber Cancer Center, NCI. Share facts, not fears!”

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