Senior Researcher at the Carlos III Health Institute, Head of the Neuro-oncology Unit at the Chronic Diseases Research Unit (UFIEC-ISCIII)
A drug in gel form cured 100 percent of mice with a very aggressive brain tumor. The authors hope that this is a first step towards helping human patients with glioblastoma, one of the most dangerous brain tumors in humans. The article is published today in PNAS.
Between 10-15% of childhood brain tumours are diffuse midline gliomas, a type of tumour that occurs within the brainstem, making it almost impossible to remove surgically. Research published in Science Translational Medicine has used a type of molecule (antisense-ASO oligonucleotides) in mouse models of this tumour to slow tumour growth and prolong survival. The authors hope that the research will reach clinical trials and, in that case, the potential new treatment would be combined with others such as radiotherapy or immunotherapy with CAR-T cells.