glioblastoma It is the most common and deadliest brain tumor. patient faces a bleak situation prognosis – Average survival after diagnosis is 12 to 15 months. Additionally, only 6.9% of patients survive beyond 5 years, making it one of the cancers with the lowest survival rates.
The cost of this cancer exceeds survival rates. Patients may experience symptoms such as headaches, seizures, cognitive and personality changes, and neurological deficits. These symptoms can greatly impact your quality of life. However, despite the urgent need, no targeted therapy exists for this devastating disease.
Researchers now believe that immunotherapy, which uses the immune system to target cancer cells, could be a turning point in the treatment of glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma is a naturally occurring tumor that belongs to a group called brain tumors. “Glioma” It originates and grows in the brain and spinal cord. classified as grade 4 tumor According to the World Health Organization, glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive cancers.
Ann Estimated 3,200 people New cases of glioblastoma are diagnosed in the UK each year, making up a significant proportion of the patient population. 12,700 Total brain and central nervous system tumors are reported every year. Worldwide, approximately 3.2～4.2 Annual number of infected people per 100,000 people. This translates to approx. 150,000 New infections occur every year around the world.
Standard treatments for glioblastoma, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, often have only temporary effects. Tumors are highly resistant to these treatments due to the cancer’s ability to suppress the immune response and the presence of the blood-brain barrier, which restricts most drugs from reaching the brain.
After surgery, tumors often recur and can spread to other parts of the brain. This leads to additional challenges for both patients and physicians.
immunotherapy
The field of immunotherapy is rapidly evolving, and research is underway to expand its potential applications for a variety of diseases. Approved immunotherapy treatments It is currently available for a variety of cancers, including melanoma, breast cancer, and lung cancer.
Immunotherapy can also be used to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and allergic diseases.
Immunotherapy represents a complex but promising avenue for the treatment of glioblastoma. Due to the highly adaptable nature of the tumor, glioblastoma exhibits different mutations in different regions of the brain. This makes targeting difficult. Still, researchers are optimistic.
recent ordeal showed that immunotherapy can be safely delivered by injection into the cerebrospinal fluid. Scientists are currently looking for ways to make these methods more effective in penetrating tumors.
Despite the promise of immunotherapy, activating it against glioblastoma remains a challenge. Brain tumor research has been hampered in the past by a lack of funding. but new initiatives We are helping recruit researchers from other fields to work on glioblastoma. This includes researchers like me.
For 20 years, I have studied how the immune system is manipulated and regulated during cancer and chronic infections. More recently, he has been studying how immune cells communicate and interfere with brain functions that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
I am now applying that knowledge and experience to glioblastoma, investigating ways to circumvent the barriers that prevent treatments from reaching the tumor. My research is part of a global effort to develop and test glioblastoma-specific immunotherapies.
Glioblastoma remains a complex and difficult disease to treat, but immunotherapy offers a potential path to better outcomes for patients. However, to date, there are no clinically available immunotherapies approved to improve the lives of glioblastoma patients.
It is also important to note that not all cancers respond to immunotherapy. Immune-related side effects such as organ inflammation may also occur. Careful consideration must be given to ensure that any treatment does not cause brain swelling.
How these drugs are administered is also important. Treating patients with a simple injection into the arm, blood, or spinal cord is more effective than, say, surgery on the brain. These considerations are an important part of the study.
However, the prospects for the use of immunotherapy in glioblastoma remain exciting. as interest, and investment growing up Regarding the potential of immunotherapy, my fellow researchers and I remain hopeful that more effective treatments for this terrible disease may soon be discovered.
Matthew ClementResearcher, Faculty of Medicine, cardiff university
This article is republished from conversation Under Creative Commons License. please read original article.
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