In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers have discovered a promising new therapy for treating glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. This therapy involves using a combination of two existing drugs that target different aspects of the cancer cells’ growth and survival mechanisms. The researchers found that the combination treatment was able to significantly inhibit the growth of glioblastoma tumors in both cell cultures and animal models.
One of the drugs used in the combination therapy is a drug called PI-103, which targets a key signaling pathway called PI3K/Akt/mTOR that is known to be dysregulated in many cancers, including glioblastoma. The other drug used is a compound called thiostrepton, which works by disrupting a protein called FoxM1 that is overexpressed in glioblastoma tumors and plays a critical role in their growth and survival. By targeting these two pathways simultaneously, the researchers were able to achieve a synergistic effect that resulted in greater inhibition of tumor growth than either drug alone.
The researchers also found that the combination therapy was able to effectively kill glioblastoma cells that were resistant to standard treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This is a significant finding, as glioblastoma is known for its resistance to conventional therapies, and the ability to overcome this resistance could significantly improve patient outcomes. Additionally, the combination therapy showed minimal toxicity in normal brain cells, suggesting that it may have fewer side effects than existing treatments.
In further experiments, the researchers found that the combination therapy was able to inhibit the growth of glioblastoma tumors by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, or programmed cell death. This suggests that the therapy not only prevents the cancer cells from dividing and growing, but also actively targets and kills them. The researchers also observed that the combination therapy was effective at reducing the invasion and migration of glioblastoma cells, which are key processes that allow the cancer to spread and invade surrounding healthy tissue.
Overall, the findings of this study suggest that the combination therapy of PI-103 and thiostrepton could be a promising new treatment option for patients with glioblastoma. By targeting multiple pathways involved in cancer growth and survival, the therapy was able to inhibit tumor growth, overcome drug resistance, and reduce the invasive properties of the cancer cells. Further research is needed to validate these findings in clinical trials, but the results so far are encouraging and warrant further investigation into this potentially game-changing treatment for glioblastoma.
