The Gel That Can Stop Tumours
The gel can reach areas that surgery might miss and where existing drugs have difficulty penetrating, allowing it to eliminate remaining cancer cells and inhibit tumour growth.
In a groundbreaking development, an innovative gel has emerged as a potential game-changer in the treatment of glioblastoma, one of the most lethal brain tumours. Recent research, led by Honggang Cui, a chemical and biomolecular engineer at Johns Hopkins University, reveals a novel hydrogel that, when combined with an anti-cancer drug and an antibody, has demonstrated unparalleled success in eradicating aggressive brain cancer in mice.
Despite recent technical advancements, Cui acknowledges the ongoing need for sophisticated therapeutic approaches and believes the hydrogel will be essential in enhancing current brain cancer treatments.
Cui’s group successfully combined an antibody with an anti-cancer medication to create a self-assembling gel that can fill tiny gaps left by surgery, which conventional techniques would not be able to reach. This novel strategy addresses the challenge of targeting cancer cells that have returned and inhibiting tumour growth in areas that surgery could miss.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that in mice suffering from glioblastoma, the hydrogel not only effectively administers medicine but also stimulates the immune system. Notably, the immune systems of living mice effectively fought off a fresh glioblastoma tumour without the need for external assistance.
Honggang Cui envisions the hydrogel as a future addition to present therapies for brain cancer, emphasizing the need for innovative therapeutic approaches in a statement. Nonetheless, the researchers emphasize the crucial role of surgery in this strategy. A 50% survival rate was observed when the gel was applied directly into the brain rather than having the tumor surgically removed. This suggests that surgery may relieve pressure and provide the gel enough time to stimulate the immune system against cancer cells.
The hydrogel solution contains nanoscale filaments with paclitaxel, an FDA-approved medication for several cancer types. These filaments serve as a delivery system for the aCD47 antibody. The gel’s consistent coverage of the tumour cavity ensures a steady release of medicine over a few weeks, with the active components staying close to the injection site.
The specific antibody chosen by the study team targets macrophages, cells that either promote immunity or protect cancer cells, thus promoting the rapid growth of tumours. Overcoming this obstacle would be a significant advancement in glioblastoma research.
While the 1990s saw the development of the polymer wafer Gliadel, a common treatment for glioblastoma, the outcomes of the hydrogel have surpassed expectations. Associate professor of neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and co-author Betty Tyler expresses optimism about the hydrogel’s potential to change the survival curve for glioblastoma patients, pointing to the remarkable 100% survival rate shown in mouse models. Future glioblastoma therapy may be improved due to the hydrogel’s novel integration of anti-cancer medications and antibodies, a combination frequently considered challenging due to molecular intricacies.
The efficacy of the hydrogel in combining immunotherapy and cerebral chemotherapy during tumour removal is highlighted by Betty Tyler, signifying a major advancement in the search for better cancer medicines.
