Brain cancer

Scientists are investigating how the cell-destroying abilities of viruses can be leveraged to better attack different cancers, with a new study showing how a gene taken from the Ebola virus could be used to take the fight to a deadly brain tumor.

New research, led by scientists from the University of Rochester, has homed in on a mechanism responsible for causing the cognitive impairment seen in patients who receive cranial radiotherapy for brain cancer.

A new study from Northwestern University is demonstrating evidence a novel implantable ultrasound device allows a less toxic formulation of chemotherapy to cross the blood-brain barrier and destroy deadly tumors.

The lamprey is not something you’d normally want anywhere near your brain. But now, researchers have used molecules taken from the freaky fish’s immune system to deliver drugs inside the body – and even managed to sneak them into the brain.

A new imaging technique designed to help surgeons identify the location of malignant brain tumors during surgery is showing promising early clinical trial results. The technique combines a near-infrared camera with a special imaging agent synthesized from an amino acid found in scorpion venom.

After over 10 years of research, the National Toxicology Program has released its report into the effects of radio frequency radiation on animals. The results suggest that high levels of exposure can cause some cancers, however the conclusions have been labeled as “weak” and unrelatable to humans.

The blood-brain barrier is an effective shield against infection, but it’s not so helpful when you’re trying to get drugs in there. Nasal sprays could bypass the barrier, and now researchers have developed a way to use ultrasound pulses to drive the drugs to where in the brain they’re needed.

Researchers have recently revealed the results from a Phase 1 trial investigating the efficacy of an experimental treatment using a genetically modified poliovirus to attack a lethal form of brain cancer. The results are mildly promising but don’t suggest this will be a magic bullet of a treatment.

Those diagnosed with glioblastoma don’t have many treatment options – and usually a median life expectancy of just over a year. Now, researchers at MIT have developed nanoparticles that could provide hope, crossing the blood-brain barrier and delivering two types of drugs to fight tumors.

New research into CAR-T cell therapy has revealed crucial mechanisms that could help the immunotherapy technique, which is currently only effective against blood cancers, be adapted for the treatment of brain tumors and other forms of solid cancers.

Remarkable new research from scientists in the UK has shown how a naturally occurring, and mostly harmless, virus is being recruited into attacking brain cancer and enhancing the tumor-targeting abilities of the body’s own immune system.

For well over half a century, scientists have been working to harness the cell-destroying power of viruses in the battle against cancer. The latest addition to this arsenal comes from an unlikely source, the relatively new Zika virus, which could offer a new way to fight deadly brain cancers.