Treating brain cancer is accompanied by challenges, particularly due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This protective shield poses difficulty in delivering medications to the brain, requiring innovative solutions. Finding a way to bypass this barrier is crucial to ensure that treatments can effectively reach the cancer cells and give patients a fighting chance.
Implantable Ultrasound Device. Credit:
Andrew Gould, BS Et Al.
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In fact, recently, a novel ultrasound device has been developed for the direct administration of chemotherapy to the brain thereby bypassing the blood-brain barrier, offering a promising approach to treating brain disorders.
Researchers conducted a Phase 1 clinical trial to introduce a device that can be surgically implanted in the skull. This device addresses the challenge of treating brain cancer using traditional oral or intravenous chemotherapy drugs.
It’s really important though to highlight the fact that treating brain cancer is a big challenge because of something called the blood-brain barrier. This barrier is like a natural defense system in our body that protects the brain but that makes it really hard to treat cancer effectively. So, finding ways to overcome it is crucial.
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This newly developed ultrasound device, when implanted in the skull, temporarily opens the BBB, allowing safe and repeated delivery of chemotherapy drugs directly into the brain. Researchers have also noted that the integrity of the BBB is restored within an hour after the procedure.
Promising outcomes were obtained from a Phase 1 clinical trial involving 17 patients diagnosed with the challenging type of brain cancer known as recurrent glioblastoma. By opening the BBB for a mere four minutes while patients were awake, there was a significant four- to six-fold increase in drug concentrations in the brain using potent chemotherapy agents such as paclitaxel and carboplatin.
Several patients received up to six treatment cycles, and the outcomes demonstrated that the treatment was well-tolerated by the patients and considered safe.
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This study represents the first description of the rapid closure of the BBB following ultrasound administration. The findings will aid in optimizing the drug administration sequence and ultrasound activation to enhance drug penetration into the brain. Ongoing research is currently in Phase 2 of clinical trials.
