Associate Professor Cedric Bardy, SAHMRI & Flinders University, South Australia. Credit: South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
Key points:
- Using tumor cells from patients, researchers found that cerebrospinal fluid reduces chemoradiation efficacy in patients with glioblastoma.
- Following cerebrospinal fluid exposure, glioblastoma cells were resistant to a form of therapy-induced death called ferroptosis.
- Combining the anti-anxiety medication trifluoperazine with standard care may improve survival of patients with glioblastoma.
A new study, published in Science Advances, demonstrates that cerebrospinal fluid diminishes treatment efficacy in brain cancer. This work also identifies a new potential therapeutic option as researchers observed improvement in the effectiveness of chemo-radiotherapy toward glioblastoma following treatment with the anti-anxiety drug trifluoperazine.
A team of neurobiologists, neurosurgeons, and oncologists examined the impact of human cerebrospinal fluid on the growth of tumor cells that were collected from 25 glioblastoma patients. They found that the tumor cells changed their identity and became resistant to therapy, including radiation and the drug temozolomide. Additionally, exposure to cerebrospinal fluid made glioblastoma cells more resistant to a form of therapy-induced cell death called ferroptosis.
“This study helps us understand the limitations of current chemotherapies and provides new hope for repurposing a class of drugs that could be added to the standard of care,” explained Cedric Bardy, professor at the South Australia Health and Medical Research Institute. “We are working hard now to try this on patients in a clinical trial.”
The research team also assessed the effect of trifluoperazine on glioblastoma cells resistant to chemoradiation. The anti-anxiety drug successfully restored glioblastoma cell sensitivity to both radiation and temozolomide therapies. Importantly, trifluoperazine did not harm healthy brain cells, suggesting that it may be safely combined with standard care to improve glioblastoma patient survival.