New spherical nucleic acid 'drug' kills tumor cells in humans with glioblastoma

[PeteS in CA]

New spherical nucleic acid 'drug' kills tumor cells in humans with glioblastoma

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-spherical-nucleic-acid-drug-tumor.html

An early clinical trial in individuals with the deadly brain cancer, glioblastoma, showed an experimental spherical nucleic acid (SNA) drug developed by Northwestern University scientists was able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and trigger the death of tumor cells.

This is the first time a nanotherapeutic has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier when given through intravenous infusion and alter the genetic machinery of a tumor to cause cell death. The drug crossed the blood-brain barrier, dialed down the level of a cancer-causing gene and promoted tumor cell death.

The Northwestern Medicine study will be published March 10 in Science Translational Medicine. The results build upon previously published pre-clinical research by the Northwestern team.

"We showed the drug, NU-0129, even at very small doses, causes tumor cells to undergo what's called apoptosis or programmed cell death," said lead investigator Dr. Priya Kumthekar, an associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine physician. "It's a remarkable finding in humans that confirms what we had previously seen in our animal studies."

This is one of the nastiest of cancers.

[GtHawk]

This is the type of tumor my brother still has growing in him. At one point it was larger than a golf ball growing around the brain stem and at the time of surgery he was on the fast track to

The surgeons weren't able to remove all of it because of it's connection to his brain stem so it is steadily growing. Maybe this new 'drug' will one day be able to help him, well survive anyway since there is no way to undo all the damage.

[catfish1957]

This is one of the nastiest of cancers.

Killed Neil Peart of Rush.  Still the most impacful of and saddening Rock death in my musicsphere.

[godblessRonaldReagan]

Lost my 4yo niece to this. I hope this will lead to a breakthrough. Cancer sucks.