Dual-drug nanotherapy crosses blood–brain barrier, improving survival in preclinical glioblastoma models
Why it matters: This nanotherapy could improve the 15-month average survival for glioblastoma patients by delivering drugs more effectively.
- Mayo Clinic researchers developed an experimental nanotherapy that delivers two cancer drugs directly to brain tumors, improving survival in preclinical models of glioblastoma.
- The nanotechnology-based approach uses small lipid-based particles (liposomes) to carry everolimus/rapamycin and vinorelbine, engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier and target tumor cells.
- Combining the treatment with radiation more than doubled survival in preclinical models using patient-derived tissue compared with untreated controls.
- Debabrata (Dev) Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D., a senior author, highlights that their approach is designed to improve both drug delivery and impact by directly targeting the tumor and combining therapies.
- Alfredo Quinones-Hiñojosa, M.D., another senior author, notes this represents a promising direction for treating glioblastoma, though further research is needed to determine if results translate to patients.
Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a groundbreaking dual-drug nanotherapy that successfully crosses the blood-brain barrier, significantly extending survival in preclinical glioblastoma models. This innovative approach packages existing cancer drugs into tiny, tumor-targeting liposomes, aiming to overcome drug resistance and improve delivery to the aggressive brain cancer.
