Newswise — A drug carrier able to reach the brain, bind to an aggressive type of tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, and release a chemotherapeutic agent has been tested for the first time by Brazilian researchers. According to an article published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, the potential treatment was shown to be effective in isolated cells and animal models thanks to a combination of nanotechnology, chemotherapy and a monoclonal antibody.
Glioblastoma multiforme accounts for 60% of all brain tumors in adults and is also the most aggressive type of brain cancer. Even after surgery, radiation therapy and conventional chemotherapy, patient survival averages about 14 months. One of the reasons is angiogenesis, a process whereby the tumor quickly creates its own blood vessels in order to develop.
“Another difficulty is the blood-brain barrier, which prevents drugs from reaching the tumor,” said Leonardo Di Filippo, a doctoral candidate and researcher at São Paulo State University’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Araraquara (FCFAr-UNESP).
To address these challenges, Di Filippo worked with fellow researchers at UNESP and two other Brazilian institutions, the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) at Ribeirão Preto, to combine docetaxel, a powerful chemotherapy drug, with a nanostructured lipid carrier designed to cross the blood-brain barrier. “We developed a formulation in which the substances were combined in a stable manner,” he said.
