Chemotherapy drugs reach deadly brain tumors for the first time

Ultrasound paves the way for a new wave of treatment for brain tumors. Photo: haydenbird

Powerful chemotherapy drugs deadly brain tumors for the first time since scientists figured out how to open the blood-brain barrier.

Having made a major breakthrough in the treatment of brain cancer, researchers from Northwestern University in the United States have shown that they can use ultrasound to create gaps in the blood-brain barrier that allow drugs to pass.

The barrier is a protective layer of densely packed cells around the brain that keeps toxins out but also prevents drugs from getting there, where they are. urgently needed.

For the first time in the world, the Northwestern team has used ultrasound on patients with glioblastoma — a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor — to open the barrier and allow chemotherapy drugs to enter.

Currently, there is no effective treatment for glioblastoma, since the most powerful drugs such as paclitaxel and carboplatin cannot enter the brain.

Previous attempts to inject paclitaxel directly into the brain have caused irritation and meningitis.

p>No long-term damage

New ultrasound treatment creates microbubbles that cause cells to burst, creating an hour-long window for drugs to enter before closing again without long-term damage.

< p>«There is a critical time window after ultrasound treatment when the brain is permeable to drugs circulating in the bloodstream,» said lead researcher Dr. Adam Sonabend, associate professor of neurological surgery at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Medicine neurosurgeon. p>

«This is potentially a huge step forward for patients with glioblastoma.»

Glioblastoma is the most common type of malignant brain tumour, with around 3,200 cases diagnosed each year in the UK.

The average life expectancy is about 15 months, with less than 10% of patients living five years after diagnosis after conventional treatments such as radiation therapy and surgery.

They are particularly difficult to treat because the tumors are filiform tendrils, that spread to the brain, and it is difficult to distinguish the edges of the tumor from normal brain tissue, which means that it can be left behind.

Temozolomide, a modern chemotherapy used to treat glioblastoma, can cross the blood-brain barrier, but it is weak and ineffective in the long term. In the new study, patients underwent surgery to remove the tumor before an implantable mesh of nine ultrasound emitters was placed over the cancer site.

They began treatment within a few weeks of implantation and the new study. reported that both the drugs and the implant were well tolerated.

Phase 2 Trial

A phase 2 clinical trial is currently underway to see if the drugs prolong the survival of patients treated every three weeks, with doses increased by each session.

Treatment takes only four minutes, and patients are awake all the time.

The breakthrough also opens the door to the treatment of other brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.< /p>

“While we have focused on brain cancer, this opens the door to the study of new drugs to treat millions of patients suffering from various brain diseases,” added Dr. Sonabend.

> The study was published in The Lancet Oncology.