Glioblastoma treatment with promise from Sloan Kettering
/Starving Cancer Stem Cells Could Be the Trick to Treating Glioblastoma, Study Finds
Summary
Using genetically engineered mouse models and high-throughput screening technologies, MSK researchers have found a surprising new approach for targeting glioblastoma.
The type of brain tumor known as glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most difficult cancers to treat. Complete removal by surgery is impossible because of where and how they infiltrate brain tissue. Additionally, the most commonly used treatments for glioblastoma — radiation therapy and the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (Temodar®) — are not very effective over the long term.
Researchers in Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Brain Tumor Center, led by developmental biologist Luis F. Parada, are focused on finding more effective ways of attacking this deadly cancer. In a study published in Nature, they report on the identification of a compound that kills glioblastoma cells using a mechanism that’s completely different from earlier treatments. The scientists say one of the keys to finding better drugs is developing models that accurately reflect the cells that make up these tumors.
