Scientists at Johns Hopkins University say they have developed a gel-based treatment that may be incredibly effective in treating often fatal brain cancer. In a study in mice this week, the gel, combined with surgery, was found to eliminate 100% of glioblastoma tumors. However, it will take more research and safety testing before we can consider trying this method in humans.
Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain cancer, accounting for about half of all primary tumors. While it is generally rare, it is one of the deadliest types of cancer. According to the National Brain Tumor AssociationThe five-year survival rate for patients with diagnosed glioblastoma is 6.8%, while the average survival time is only eight months. More than 13,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with glioblastoma annually, and more than 10,000 die from it each year.
These cancers are difficult to treat for many reasons. They tend to be very aggressive and quick to grow, for example. The natural defenses of the brain, including blood-brain The barrier, however, also makes it difficult for treatments to effectively reach the tumor site. And it is often impossible to completely remove tumors surgically, given the delicate nature of the brain.
In the past few years, scientists have discovered new drugs that can treat it better brain cancers from the current standard. But researchers at Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere, led by chemical and biomolecular engineer Honggang Cui, wanted to try a different approach. They hypothesized that they could find an improved way to deliver existing drugs into the brain.
To do this, they turned the drug paclitaxel, an FDA-approved treatment for several types of cancer, into a solution that transforms itself into a hydrogel once it enters the brain. Then they mix in an antibody that attacks a protein called CD47. CD47 is normally found on the surface of many cells, but some cancers use CD47 to protect themselves from being eaten by immune cells called macrophages. So the purpose of the antibody is to stop this protection. On its own, none of the medications taken as usual will have a significant effect on glioblastoma tumors. But the researchers envision the gel could be delivered to the brain along with surgery, where the gel would fill in the incisions of the remaining tumor and permanently seal it off.
In their new study, published On Monday at PNAS, the team detailed the results of their work with mice. Surprisingly, 100% of the mice treated with surgery survived. The gel also appears to stimulate the immune system and macrophages against glioblastoma. When the researchers inserted new tumors into the surviving mice, the mice were able to fight off the cancer on their own.
Few experimental treatments show this kind of success, even in early animal trials. Given the poor track record of current options for glioblastoma, the results are certainly puzzling. But Cui and his colleagues caution that their research is still in the very early stages of development, and there are many unanswered questions — including whether their gel will behave in the same way that a human brain with glioblastoma appears to do. in the mouse brain.
“Mice have very small brains, but we still have to see if this can work safely with larger human brains,” Cui told Gizmodo over the phone.
At the moment, human clinical research is still some way off. The team next plans to test their method in other animal models.