Scientists may have found a new way to treat glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive brain tumor. Researchers at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine conducted a Phase I clinical trial, the results of which were published in The Lancet Oncology medical journal.
The study was conducted on 17 patients with recurrent glioblastoma and involved the use of SonoCloud-9®, an implantable ultrasound device.
This new approach to treating glioblastoma uses the SonoCloud-9® implantable ultrasound device to temporarily disrupt the brain’s protective barrier, the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The process begins with the injection of microbubbles into the patient’s bloodstream. Upon activation of the ultrasound, these microbubbles vibrate, mechanically disrupting the tight junctions of the BBB cells near the tumor. Through this breached barrier, the chemotherapy drug, albumin-bound paclitaxel, easily reaches the tumor tissue in high concentration, significantly increasing the effectiveness of the treatment.
The treatment outcomes showed a significant increase in efficacy, as a subgroup of patients demonstrated that the method used increased the concentration of chemotherapy crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reaching the area surrounding the tumor by 4 to 6 times.
The method proved to be safe and well-tolerated by the patients. This fact was further confirmed as each participant received up to six cycles of chemotherapy and ultrasound device activation, indicating the feasibility of successful repeated delivery.
Furthermore, the use of SonoCloud-9® makes it possible to open the BBB over a large region of the brain, which in turn significantly expands the area of chemotherapy delivery and the potential effectiveness of the treatment.
“The technology is a potentially huge step forward for glioblastoma patients,” said Dr. Sonabend. “Today’s standard chemotherapy, temozolomide, is weak. In the past, directly injecting paclitaxel or carboplatin into the brain was associated with toxicity. In our study, using the SonoCloud-9 showed promise for safe delivery.”
