Progress by CiMUS researchers in the early detection and treatment of a lethal form of brain cancer thanks to nanotechnology

A study led by CiMUS, the University of Santiago’s Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Disease, a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence within the Galician university system, has opened up an opportunity for a brand new therapeutic approach that could lead to a clinical trial for glioblastoma within three years.

USC CiMUS researchers, led by María José Alonso and Pablo Aguiar, are making progress in the early diagnosis and treatment of this disease thanks to nanotechnology within the framework of the USC’s crowdfunding platform Sumo Valor, which seeks citizen participation in order to raise funds through donations. The research is part of the DIAGBI programme, included in the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation’s call for R&D&I projects in strategic lines with public-private collaboration.

There is currently no treatment for this disease and average survival is no more than 14 months from diagnosis. “This is because research has focused on other more prevalent types of cancer, such as breast, prostate or lung. In the case of brain tumours, the lack of investment has meant that the prognosis of patients today is similar to that of several decades ago,” explained CiMUS’ principal investigator María José Alonso.
For this USC group, nanotechnology represents an enormous challenge in terms of bringing radiopharmaceuticals from intravenous injection to the glioblastoma. “Although thanks to the monoclonal antibody, the radiopharmaceutical should bind specifically to the tumour, it has to get there before this can happen. This is the principal hurdle facing our project and which we intend to solve by developing nanoparticles that allow the radiopharmaceutical to get through the different biological barriers it encounters. The greatest challenge is in the brain, where it first has to overcome the blood-brain barrier and then the brain itself until it reaches the tumour cells,” Alonso stated.