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Hidden Weakness Found in Aggressive Brain Cancer
9 Feb
Summary
- Glioblastoma vulnerability discovered, enabling new treatment strategies.
- Steroid drugs alter vitamin B3 processing, creating metabolic weakness.
- Dietary methionine restriction combined with steroids slows tumour growth.
A significant breakthrough in understanding glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, has been announced by an international research team. Published in Science Advances, their work details the discovery of a "hidden vulnerability" within these tumours. This finding could pave the way for innovative diagnostic and treatment approaches, including diet-based interventions.
Crucially, the research highlighted how commonly used steroid anti-inflammatory drugs impact glioblastoma cells' processing of vitamin B3. This metabolic alteration creates a therapeutic weakness that can be leveraged. By combining steroid treatment with dietary strategies to limit the amino acid methionine, researchers successfully slowed tumour growth in preclinical models.
This suggests that reducing methionine availability in a patient's diet, in conjunction with steroid therapy, can effectively starve glioblastoma cells of essential metabolites. Experts emphasize the urgent need for improved glioblastoma treatments, noting that such discoveries hold the potential to provide patients and their families with more valuable time.
