Research Finds New Brain Cancer Treatment

Research Finds New Brain Cancer Treatment

Researchers have discovered a new target for the treatment of aggressive forms of cancer, glioblatoma multiforme. Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most severe forms of cancer which arise from glial cells of the brain tissues. Although associated with a poor prognosis, glioblastoma multiforme is rare,  it represents on average only 20% of intracranial tumors.

The most common glioblastomas develop in the cerebral hemispheres, but in children can occur in brainstem. There are glioblastomas that arise from malignant transformation of an astrocytoma, but there are also glioblastomas which occur sporadically. There are several genomic abnormalities described  that cause glioblastomas: p53 gene mutation ( suppressor tumor gene), overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), gene amplification of platelet-derived growth factor-alpha (PDGF-alpha) gene, etc.

Brain Cancer

Glioblastoma multiforme is manifested by symptoms of intracranial hypertension such as headaches, vomiting and nausea. Also, these symptoms may be accompanied by paresis or other neurological impairment. Of course, the symptoms also depend on location of the tumor. The most common glioblastoma multiforme has a fronto-temporal location. Therefore,  symptoms such as impaired memory, personality and neurological deficit can occur. Treatment for glioblastoma multiforme consists of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Unfortunately, treatment is often symptomatic, not curative because many tumors become resistance to treatment. In addition, many drugs used in chemotherapy can not pass a blood-brain barrier to destroy the tumor. It is worth to note that symptomatic treatment refers to reducing headaches or seizures. Therefore,  corticosteroids or anticonvulsants are given to patients suffering from glioblastoma.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the average survival rate of patients with glioblastoma multiforme is approximately 15 months. Because it is an incurable disease and also a rapidly growing one, finding new targets for treating this disease is extremely valuable. Dr. Luis Parada, chairman of developmental biology and director of the Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration, said that the disease is difficult to treat because the treatment is aimed especially at cancer cells that replicate quickly. Instead temozolomide, the drug used to stop tumor growth,  does not act on cells that replicate slowly and those are the ones responsible for relapses.

Temozolomide is an alkylating agent that passes the blood brain barrier and proved useful in combination with radiotherapy. After experiments conducted on laboratory animals, researchers found that tumor cells behave like stem cells. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can divide and specialize in different type of cells  in the body. Discussion on the existence of stem cells in solid tumors has generated a great controversy among researchers.