Glioblastoma, a deadly and difficult-to-treat brain cancer, is known to cause cognitive decline as it spreads throughout the brain’s adjacent networks. However, this aggressive infiltration may be the cancer’s Achilles heel.
Researchers at UC San Francisco have discovered that these fatal tumors manipulate the structure of connections in neighboring brain tissue due to their neural activity. This modification results in the mental degeneration associated with the disease. They also found that the drug gabapentin, commonly used for seizure management, could impede this tumor-promoting activity in mice affected by glioblastoma.
The findings published in Nature offer a promising new research path for a disease resistant to even the latest and most advanced cancer treatments.
Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD, a neurosurgeon who led the study along with postdoctoral scholar Saritha Krishna, Ph.D., stated, “Glioblastoma needs a victory. This study paves the way for a new world of treatment options for these patients and a novel perspective on brain cancer.”
The study suggests that the cognitive decline in brain cancer patients is not due to inflammation and pressure from tumor growth, as previously believed. Instead, it’s the interaction between cells that cause this decline. Hervey-Jumper likens it to an orchestra where the harmony of the musicians brings the music to life. The brain cells wrapped up in the tumor are so impaired that others must be called in from further away to accomplish tasks once handled by a smaller area.
The researchers turned to gabapentin after understanding that the tumors were exploiting the brain’s networks. They tested the drug, which controls seizures by reducing excess electrical activity in the brain, on mice with human glioblastoma cells.
“Gabapentin actually prevented the tumor from growing,” said Krishna. “This gives us hope that combining gabapentin with other glioblastoma treatments could help slow down some of the cognitive decline we see in patients and perhaps prolong their lives.”
The findings could apply to other neural cancers, like spinal cancers, and could explain why the brain is often the first site of metastasis in many cancers.
Hervey-Jumper emphasized the need for cancer specialists to consider communication networks between cells, such as the positive-feedback loop in glioblastoma, as potential targets for treatments, alongside genetic and immunological approaches.
“The idea that there’s a dialogue between cancer cells and healthy brain cells is something of a paradigm shift,” he said. “We haven’t thought about cancer in this way before.”
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Brain Tumor Association. The study is titled “Glioblastoma remodelling of human neural circuits decreases survival.”
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Glioblastoma treatment
What did the UC San Francisco researchers discover about glioblastoma brain tumors?
The UC San Francisco researchers discovered that the neural activity of glioblastoma brain tumors changes the structure of connections in the surrounding brain tissue. This change leads to cognitive decline.
What potential treatment did the researchers identify for glioblastoma?
The researchers identified the drug gabapentin, commonly used for seizure management, as a potential treatment. In their study, gabapentin was found to hinder the tumor-promoting activity in mice afflicted with glioblastoma.
How could these findings impact the treatment of other cancers?
These findings could also be relevant to other neural cancers, such as those of the spine, and may help explain why the brain is often the first site of metastasis in many cancers. This research encourages cancer specialists to consider the communication networks between cells as potential targets for treatments.
What analogy did the researchers use to explain the interaction of cells in glioblastoma?
The researchers likened the interaction of cells in glioblastoma to an orchestra. In a functioning brain, the cells work in harmony like musicians in an orchestra. But in a brain affected by a tumor, certain cells (musicians) are damaged, requiring others to be recruited from farther away to perform the tasks once handled by a smaller area.
Who funded this research?
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Brain Tumor Association.
More about Glioblastoma treatment
- UC San Francisco
- Glioblastoma Information
- Gabapentin
- National Institutes of Health
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- American Brain Tumor Association
6 comments
I’m confused…so the tumors are like messing with the brain’s wiring and making it weak? thats some scary stuff.
God bless those researchers! Hope they’ll find a cure soon for all brain cancers. We’ve lost too many people to this awful disease.
My aunt suffered from glioblastoma, it was such a hard time for our family… I just wish this kind of research was there when she needed it…
Amazing stuff! Science never stops to amaze me. Keep up the good work UCSF!
woah, this is huge news! Had no clue that a common seizure med could have an impact on brain cancer…
so gabapentin’s the new hope, huh? i’ve heard about it for epilepsy, but this is a whole new level! hats off to the scientists behind this study.