University of Virginia researchers have developed an experimental method that uses ultrasound to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles into the brain in order to fight glioblastoma, a deadly brain cancer.
The study team, which was led by Prof. Roger Abounader, designed a treatment approach that combined the use of ultrasound, nanoparticles, as well as microRNA (small RNA molecules that regulate gene activity). Their method proved promising as a new way to treat this deadly brain cancer. The tiny gene molecules they used were selected because they have the potential to disrupt multiple tumor cell mechanisms.
Each component of their experimental treatment method was geared at addressing a specific challenge that has made it difficult to treat glioblastoma and other brain cancers. For example, the ultrasound was looked at as a way to temporarily disable the protective barrier around the brain that prevents not just harmful substances like pathogens from entering the brain but also blocks medicines from reaching the brain.
The ultrasound is targeted to create an opening through which other elements of the treatment approach get through the blood-brain barrier. The MRI-guided ultrasound works with administered microbubbles to temporarily open the BBB to allow therapeutic nanoparticles carrying microRNA to get through. The nanoparticles were used as a vehicle to carry the microRNA into the brain so that those molecules could disrupt various cancer cell mechanisms.
This multi-pronged approach was able to slow down the rate at which glioblastoma tumors grow in mouse models and in vitro tests within the lab. In some tests, tumor cells were totally suppressed.
This was a preclinical study, and much more work needs to be undertaken to refine the approach so that it can be advanced to the clinical trial stage. The method could change how brain cancer is treated because it could, potentially, be more effective since it targets multiple cancer genes, thereby delivering a more lethal blow to glioblastoma. Other brain cancers could also be treated using this method.
Given that the approach makes it possible to deliver microRNA therapy as close to the brain tumor as possible, there is a chance that treatment dosages can be reduced since the needed amount could be delivered into the tumor itself and the surrounding tissues rather than “flooding” the entire brain with medications.
Suppressed cancer progression extends patient survival, and that is an objective that has eluded the scientific community for a long time, especially with regard to glioblastoma.
Many companies, such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP), are also racing to develop medicines that can be more effective against brain cancers like GBM. The coming years could yield novel treatments that give brain cancer patients viable treatment options, something that is currently lacking.
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