Revolutionary approach for treating glioblastoma works with human cells
In a rapid-fire series of breakthroughs in just under a year, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have made another stunning advance in the development of an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a common and aggressive brain cancer. The work, published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine, describes how human stem cells, made from human skin cells, can hunt down and kill human brain cancer, a critical and monumental step toward clinical trials – and real treatment.
Last year, the UNC-Chapel Hill team, led by Shawn Hingtgen, an assistant professor in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and member of the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, used the technology to convert mouse skin cells to stem cells that could home in on and kill human brain cancer, increasing time of survival 160 to 220 percent, depending on the tumor type. Now, they not only show that the technique works with human cells but also works quickly enough to help patients, whose median survival is less than 18 months and chance of surviving beyond two years is 30 percent.
“Speed is essential,” Hingtgen said. “It used to take weeks to convert human skin cells to stem cells. But brain cancer patients don’t have weeks and months to wait for us to generate these therapies. The new process we developed to create these stem cells is fast enough and simple enough to be used to treat a patient.”
Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the standard of care for glioblastoma, and that hasn’t changed in three decades. In months, the tumor comes back in almost every single patient, invariably sending tiny tendrils out into the surrounding brain tissue. Drugs can’t reach them, and surgeons can’t see them, so it’s almost impossible to remove all of the cancer, explained Ryan Miller, a coauthor of the study and neuropathologist at UNC Hospitals and associate professor at the UNC School of Medicine.
“We desperately need something better,” said Hingtgen.
The key to Hingtgen’s treatment is “skin flipping,” a technology for creating neural stem cells from skin cells that won a Nobel Prize in 2012. The first step is to harvest fibroblasts — skin cells responsible for producing collagen and connective tissue — from the patient and reprogram those cells to become what are called induced neural stem cells, which have an innate ability to home in on cancer cells in the brain.
But by themselves, stem cells can only find a tumor and bump up against it – not kill it – so the team had to engineer stem cells that could carry therapeutic agents that the cells can launch at the tumor to kill it.
Hingtgen’s stem cells can carry a protein that activates an inert substance called a prodrug that is given to the patient. The cells can then generate a small halo of drug that is located just around the stem cell, rather than it being circulated throughout the patient’s body, reducing unwanted side effects.
“We’re one to two years away from clinical trials, but for the first time, we showed that our strategy for treating glioblastoma works with human stem cells and human cancers,” said Hingtgen. “This is a big step toward a real treatment – and making a real difference.”
Learn more: Revolutionary approach for treating glioblastoma works with human cells
[osd_subscribe categories=’glioblastoma’ placeholder=’Email Address’ button_text=’Subscribe Now for any new posts on the topic “GLIOBLASTOMA”‘]
Receive an email update when we add a new GLIOBLASTOMA article.
The Latest on: Glioblastoma
[google_news title=”” keyword=”glioblastoma” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Glioblastoma
- Glioblastoma Pipeline Landscape Report 2024: Pivotal Advances in Treatment Protocols and Drug Developmentson April 26, 2024 at 1:35 am
The "Glioblastoma - Pipeline Insight, 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The latest report on the Glioblastoma pipeline insights covers extensive research into the ...
- New Therapy Destroys Deadly Brain Tumor in Dayson April 25, 2024 at 6:30 am
A groundbreaking new therapy destroys deadly brain tumors within days. The new treatment, CAR T-cell therapy, helps treat glioblastoma.
- Apollomics Announces Approval of Vebreltinib in China as a First-in-Class Treatment for Gliomas with MET Fusion Geneon April 25, 2024 at 5:38 am
Apollomics’ partner in China, Avistone, received approval from National Medical Products Administration of China to expand the use of vebreltinib to the treatment of gliomas with PTPRZ1-MET fusion ...
- ITM, Helmholtz Munich and University Hospital Münster Announce First Patient Dosed in Phase I Investigator-Initiated Glioblastoma Trialon April 23, 2024 at 3:13 am
ITM-31 is a carbonic anhydrase (CA) XII-specific antibody Fab fragment developed by Helmholtz Munich and coupled with ITM's medical radioisotope, non-carrier-added Lutetium-177 (n.c.a. 177 Lu, ...
- Genetically engineering a treatment for incurable brain tumorson April 22, 2024 at 8:10 am
Purdue University researchers are developing and validating a patent-pending treatment for incurable glioblastoma brain tumors. Glioblastomas are almost always lethal with a median survival time of 14 ...
- 'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella sends message to fans after revealing brain cancer diagnosison April 19, 2024 at 10:32 am
Sophie Kinsella, 54, shared on social media that she has glioblastoma. The author of the "Shopaholic" book series that was turned into a hit movie is sending a message to fans after revealing she is ...
- Author Sophie Kinsella reveals that she’s had brain cancer since 2022: ‘All is stable’on April 17, 2024 at 2:47 pm
At the end of 2022 I was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of aggressive brain cancer,” the novelist wrote. “I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure that my children were ...
- 'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosison April 17, 2024 at 10:08 am
The author of the "Shopaholic" book series that was turned into a movie is battling glioblastoma, a cancerous and aggressive brain tumor. "I did not share this before because I wanted to make sure ...
- Sophie Kinsella, ‘Shopaholic’ Author, Says She Has Brain Canceron April 17, 2024 at 9:21 am
The author of the best-selling book series said she had been undergoing treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, after a diagnosis in 2022.
via Bing News