Brain cancer a thing of the past?

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan State University scientists have created a new compound they say can shut down a cancerous tumor’s main defense system.

So far, the scientists have been able to kill every type of brain cancer they can throw at it in the lab. They want to start human trials within the next three years.

Scientists say the new treatment is not a cure per se–but if it works as well as they think it does, it could transform the way we think about brain cancers, like glioblastoma.

Right now, the chances of long-term survival are slim–if at all–but that might be changing soon.

Scientists compare the potential effects of this new treatment on cancer to current treatments for another disease that used to almost always be deadly–HIV.

“When I was in medical school in the late ’80s and early ’90s, HIV was a fatal disease; it was feared,” said Charles Hong, MSU researcher and Chair of the Department of Medicine. “Fast forward, triple therapy, medical students have no clue what HIV [used to mean]; people aren’t dying anymore.”

MSU researchers say the early results from their studies indicate this treatment could have similar results for brain cancer patients.

“It’s not cured, but it’s managed in such a dramatic way,” said Hong. “This is the first step toward that goal; it may not be a cure, but it’s an effective way to manage it, so future medical students won’t know what we’re talking about.”

The explanation for how the new treatment works can get a bit technical, but these researchers were able to create a compound in their lab that they say is completely harmless to human tissue, but–from the tumor’s point of view it’s like a poison.

“Let’s say you’re a tumor, driving along…When this molecule hits you stop seeing the sunlight you start stressing out you can’t eat well,” said MSU researcher Chuck Williams. “and eventually you just die from too much stress, and not enough of being able to do the normal things.”

It does this by shutting down a key acid sensor in the outer layer of cancer cells, effectively stopping these tumors from getting energy and making all the other treatments we have that much easier to pull off.

Without that acidic layer, scientists compared it to the tumor taking off sunscreen, which makes radiation therapy that much more effective. Also, lack of energy means that tumors shrink In place, which turns some brain surgeries from impossible, to routine.

Right now, researchers are in the beginning stages of animal trials and working out the kinks, such as the exact method of delivery in mammals, at the moment, they are limited to studies in fish, which can soak in the compound for an extended time. Once they figure out a delivery method that works, like a pill, or an injection, they will be moving to clinical trials as soon as possible.

“I was originally thinking 10 years–but having these responses that we have gotten, we’ve actually changed our plans–we are gonna throw the kitchen sink and we’re going to try and do it in three years,” Hong said.

After that, the researchers can start on the next project–seeing just how many types of cancer this compound works on.

Unlike most of the current cancer treatments we have, this compound targets tumors at their fundamental building blocks. And that could give scientists the break they’ve been looking for.

“It’s not unique to glioblastoma; we have a lot of great data that shows it works in lung cancer, works in pancreatic cancer; and overall, we have a huge list of just–cancers that it works in,” said MSU researcher Leif Neitzel.

Surgical teams across the country have been reaching out to the MSU researchers to see when they can start using the new compound in their own trials.

Researcher Williams put it this way: “Help is on the way.”

To view the full paper as it recently appeared in The Journal Experimental Hematology and Oncology, click here.

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