2023-05-03 19:22:00
Better chemotherapy
Robert Klatt
Glioblastom (Gehirntumor)
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- people with one Glioblastom (Hirntumor) can be difficult to treat because most drugs cannot cross the blood-brain barrier
- A implantable grid of ultrasound transmitters can the Temporarily open the blood-brain barrierwith it chemotherapy can go directly to the brain
The blood-brain barrier prevents drugs from reaching the organ. A new technique can temporarily open the “filter” to deliver chemotherapy directly to the brain in the case of glioblastoma.
Chicago (U.S.A.). The blood-brain barrier is a highly effective filter between the central nervous system and the bloodstream. It protects the brain from toxins and pathogens, but also prevents most drugs from reaching the organ. Glioblastoma is very problematic because chemotherapy drugs, which are highly effective in other types of cancer, cannot reach the brain tumor.
scientists of Northwestern University (NU) have now developed a method that can briefly open the blood-brain barrier using ultrasound to improve cancer treatment. According to their publication in the specialist magazine The Lancet Oncology the drug concentration in the brain was thereby increased by a factor of four to six.
Implantable grid of ultrasound transmitters
The scientists around the neurosurgeon Adam Sonabend used an implantable grid made of nine ultrasound transmitters from the French biotech company Carthera to open the blood-brain barrier. The implant makes it possible to penetrate large parts of the brain with ultrasound, which means that the permeability of the blood-brain barrier is significantly increased for a short time. The treatment takes only four minutes in total. The patients are awake and can leave the hospital after a short time.
New drugs for brain tumors
Until now, only the drug temozolomide could be used for chemotherapy in brain tumors because it can cross the blood-brain barrier. According to Sonabend, it is a weak drug. Due to the temporarily weakened blood-brain barrier, the highly effective drugs carboplatin and paclitaxel were able to penetrate to the glioblastoma.
So far, the two drugs have not been used in the therapy of glioblastomas because they cannot normally penetrate the blood-brain barrier. In previous studies, paclitaxel was applied directly to the human brain, but a connection with meningitis was found. According to the neurosurgeon, the results of the clinical investigation could imply important advances for patients with glioblastoma.
“While we have focused on brain tumors, the process opens the door to research into new treatments for millions of patients suffering from various brain disorders.”
The blood-brain barrier closes again
In the study, the scientists also explain the speed at which the blood-brain barrier closes again after the ultrasound application. Accordingly, most of the reconstitution of the blood-brain barrier occurs within the first 30 to 60 minutes after ultrasound treatment. This knowledge gained should help to determine the optimal time frame for the administration of drugs as well as the activation of the ultrasound.
“There is a critical time window after sonication in which the brain is permeable to drugs circulating in the bloodstream.”
Based on the research results to date, the scientists are currently conducting a clinical Phase 2 study through. This is investigating whether the new treatment method can prolong the lives of cancer patients when paclitaxel and carboplatin are administered in combination.
The Lancet Oncology, doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00112-2
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