Glioblastoma is the most common type of brain cancer, and the odds of surviving it are abysmal. Only 6.8% of patients make it to five years after treatment. Surgery is difficult because the fast-growing tumors are hard to extricate completely from the brain without damaging the brain itself. Delivering medicines to the brain is a problem due to the blood-brain barrier. But a new innovation in treatment is showing promise. In a recent trial, it proved to be 100% effective in lab mice.
What researchers have done is mix two anti-cancer drugs in a solution that turns to gel. When surgery is performed to remove a brain tumor, the gel is placed into the tumor cavity. It then infuses into the crevasses of the brain and doesn't flush away as quickly as a liquid would.
The mice not only survived, but when tumors were later introduced into treated mice, they were able to fend off the brain cancer on their own. It will take a lot more research to determine whether this treatment is safe for humans, and the next step is testing it in higher-order animals. Read about the experimental gel and its astonishing performance at Gizmodo.
(Image credit: Rama)
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Life expectancy with glioblastoma is an average of about eight months after diagnosis, so I hope they can get to human trials soon. With mortality rates like that, they will have no problem finding human volunteers.
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