Stop glioma

New drug Stops brain tumor Growth in 60% of cases

Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+

Promising results in the treatment of glioma were presented by scientists from the USA. Experimental therapy not only increased the survival rate of animals, but also formed the memory of immune cells in case of relapse.

Approximately 80% of all cases of malignant brain tumors are gliomas. They also account for about a third of all cases of cancer of the nervous system. To cope with this common disease, scientists developed a combination therapy that led to complete regression of the tumor in mice in 60% of cases.

Article by Kadiyala et al. Inhibition of 2-Hydroxyglutarate Elicits Metabolic-reprogramming and Mutant IDH1 Glioma Immunity in Mice is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation – VM.

Artistic visualization of a glioma cell attacked by the immune system.

At the first stage, the scientists tested inhibitors of the compound D-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG), which is produced by cancer cells and is necessary for them to grow. Inhibitors were administered to animals together with standard radiation and chemotherapy, and together they significantly increased the survival rate of mice.

Further observations revealed the advantages and disadvantages of D-2-HG inhibitors. At first, scientists found out that the new drug makes cancer cells more susceptible to radiation therapy, but at the same time, the level of protein that malignant cells use to mask from the immune system also increased.

Then the scientists supplemented the therapy with a checkpoint inhibitor (to suppress protein levels) and tested the combined method.

The modified approach further increased the survival rate of mice, due to the fact that the animals' immune system was able to attack the tumor.

In addition, the therapy promoted the development of immune memory: T-cells were now targeted at a specific tumor and ready for a new attack in case of re-growth. This is a very important result, because the risk of glioma recurrence is very high.

"We have received promising preclinical results and now intend to confirm the potential of therapy for humans," the scientists concluded.

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