Combining microbubbles and ultrasound for drug delivery to brain tumors: current progress and overview

Area of Science:

• Neuro-oncology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Radiology

Background:

• Malignant glioma is a difficult central nervous system (CNS) disease with high recurrence and mortality rates.
• Conventional treatments like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have limited efficacy in controlling tumor progression and improving survival.
• The blood-brain barrier (BBB) restricts the delivery of therapeutic agents to brain tumors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review preclinical studies on microbubble-facilitated focused ultrasound (FUS) for drug delivery in brain tumor treatment.
• To explore the potential of FUS and microbubbles in enhancing therapeutic agent delivery across the BBB.
• To discuss newly developed multifunctional theranostic microbubbles for FUS-induced BBB opening.

Main Methods:

• Review of preclinical research investigating FUS with microbubbles for brain tumor therapy.
• Analysis of studies demonstrating FUS-mediated BBB opening to enhance drug delivery.
• Examination of advancements in theranostic microbubble technology.

Main Results:

• FUS combined with microbubbles has shown potential in enhancing the permeability of the CNS blood-tissue barrier.
• This technology facilitates the delivery of therapeutic agents into brain tumors by temporarily opening the BBB.
• Preclinical studies indicate promising results for FUS-mediated drug delivery in brain tumor treatment.

Conclusions:

• Microbubble-facilitated FUS is a promising strategy for improving drug delivery across the BBB in malignant glioma.
• This approach offers a potential method to overcome treatment challenges associated with brain tumors.
• Advancements in theranostic microbubbles may further enhance the efficacy of FUS-based brain tumor therapies.