Nasal Spray Eradicates Aggressive Brain Cancer in Mouse Trials, Offering New Immunotherapy Hope
Bucharest, Romania – An experimental nasal therapy has achieved complete elimination of glioblastoma, an aggressive and often fatal form of brain cancer, in preclinical trials using mouse models, researchers have announced. The treatment, which utilizes nanoparticles to stimulate the immune system directly within the brain, combined with drugs activating T lymphocytes, resulted in tumor eradication after one or two administrations and generated long-term immune protection preventing cancer recurrence.
Glioblastoma is notoriously arduous to treat due to its aggressive nature and the blood-brain barrier, which hinders drug delivery. Current treatments offer limited survival benefits,making this research a potentially significant breakthrough for the approximately 300,000 peopel worldwide diagnosed with brain tumors each year. While still in early stages, the findings suggest a new immunotherapy strategy that could offer a more tolerable and effective treatment option, particularly for cancers that currently respond poorly to existing immunotherapies.
The study, detailed in recent findings, centers on delivering immune-stimulating particles via the nasal passage. Researchers observed that the particles localized primarily to the lymph nodes surrounding the brain, minimizing systemic distribution and reducing the risk of side effects – a crucial consideration for immune-boosting therapies. However, activating the STING pathway alone proved insufficient to control the cancer, as glioblastoma cells possess mechanisms to suppress the immune response.
The key to success lay in combining the nanotherapy with drugs that enhance T lymphocyte activation. This synergistic approach led to complete tumor elimination and sustained immune protection in treated animals.Researchers envision future nanotherapies designed to activate multiple immune mechanisms simultaneously within a single formula.
Despite the promising results,the therapy remains in the preclinical phase. efficacy has only been demonstrated in mouse models, and extensive safety, dosing, and efficacy studies are required before clinical trials in humans can begin. The research team emphasizes that nanotherapy is not currently approved for clinical use.
The ability to deliver an immune-stimulating treatment directly to the brain, with minimal impact on the rest of the body, represents a significant step toward more effective and tolerable therapies for glioblastoma and potentially other cancers, according to the study authors.
Liviu Cojan, Digi24, contributed to this report.
