Light, Viruses Could Transform Brain-Tumor Treatment

A biomedical researcher from Spain has spent the past several years working on a novel brain-tumor treatment that would expand the boundaries of medical innovation to unseen territories. Dr. Marta Alonso shifted her focus to pediatric brain tumors after she met a teenager with medulloblastoma at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston more than 15 years ago.

Medulloblastoma is a common pediatric cancerous brain tumor that typically starts growing in the cerebellum, the lower back region of the brain that is involved in movement, balance and muscle coordination. Treatment protocols for the pediatric cancer involve surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, and the condition has a five-year survival rate of 72% for children aged 14 and younger.

Although many medulloblastoma patients have benefitted significantly from current treatments, researchers such as Alonso are working on innovative treatments that would ensure no medulloblastoma patient is left behind. Alonso developed a novel treatment that involves using modified viruses to stimulate the natural immune response and trigger certain genetic pathways to make immune cells attack cancer cells more aggressively. This treatment is somewhat similar to immunotherapy as it focuses on empowering the human immune system to fight tumorous cancer cells rather than killing them itself.

With financial backing from the European Union, Alonso launched the research project ViroPedTher, which focuses on developing treatments for atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors and gliomas, two rare tumors that tend to develop deep within children’s brains. The project aims to begin larger-scale clinical trials by mid-2024 and expand efforts to develop safe and much more effective treatments for pediatric brain tumors.

Lumiblast, another project with EU funding, is looking to leverage light-sensitive compounds such as protoporphyrin IX in the development of noninvasive brain cancer treatment. Surgery is an effective means of cutting out brain tumors, but it is incredibly invasive and wrought with many potential risks. These risks includes infection, blood clots, swelling and bleeding in the brain, seizures, allergic reactions to anesthesia and impaired motor skills or memory.

Dr. Theodossis Theodossiou and his team at the Lumiblast project are working on a light-based treatment that could destroy cancer cells in the brain without the need for surgery. The research team is currently looking for compounds that can help locate tumors in the brain by causing a chemical reaction that makes them “glow,’ allowing for precise and accurate brain tumor locating.

While the project will have to overcome issues such as low-light penetration into brain tissues, it is opening the door to the development of completely novel pathways for treating brain tumors.

With other enterprises such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: CNSP) also engaged in searching for effective treatments against pediatric and adult-onset brain cancers, a breakthrough for patients could happen sooner rather than later.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP

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