New Strategy Offers Promising New Approach for Glioblastoma Treatment

In a study recently published by the journal Oncotarget, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores Cancer Center demonstrated in both a mouse model of glioblastoma, and human glioblastoma tissue removed from patients and cultured in the lab, the disease can be effectively treated by combining three classes of anti-cancer drugs. The first drug targets a cancer mutation in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) gene, the second drug increases stress in cancer cells and the third damages cancer-cell DNA. “Developing therapies against glioblastoma is like a chess game. For each therapy administered, or move, by the physician, the cancer makes a counter-move,” said the lead author of the study. In mouse models of glioblastoma and in explants of human glioblastoma, singular treatment with an EGFR inhibitor, a PLK1 inhibitor or the current standard of care drug (a DNA-damaging agent), each temporarily halted glioblastoma growth. However, just like with the human disease, the tumors eventually grew back in the mice. Furthermore, no detectable tumor recurrence was observed when a combination of all three classes of drugs were administered. The treated mice tolerated this combination regimen without showing significant side-effects. To read more about this study, click here.