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Published on: June 7, 2020
Brain tumours: Non-invasive techniques to treat invasive pathologies
Mathis Barbotin1, Vincent Thoreau2, Guylène Page2
1University of Poitiers, Medicine and Pharmacy faculty, Poitiers, France.
Abstract:
Brain and other central nervous system tumours are cancers of poor prognosis, for which current therapeutic possibilities do not match the expectations regarding a curative objective. If the treatment of central nervous system tumours is so difficult, it is partly due to the blood-brain barrier and the blood-tumour barrier, which need to be crossed to access the tumour. Driven by these insufficient results, more and more techniques and technologies are being explored and are evolving: the progress of surgery and radiotherapy, the growing place of immunotherapies, or the apparition of new non-invasive techniques. The latter are those which interest us here, where promising advances are taking the leap to clinical trials. Nose-to-brain delivery, receptor-mediated transcytosis and micro-bubbles-associated focused ultrasounds are three therapeutic propositions with encouraging results regarding the improvement of drug access to the brain. Even though they might have their share of limits and adverse effects, benefit-risk balance looks promising, and they may appear as new options to treat patients in the future.
Insights
New non-invasive techniques show promise for delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier to treat brain tumors. These methods offer a hopeful outlook for improving patient outcomes in neuro-oncology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Oncology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors have a poor prognosis.
- Current treatments are limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-tumour barrier (BTB).
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore novel non-invasive techniques for enhancing drug delivery to brain tumors.
- To evaluate the potential of these advanced methods in clinical settings.
Main Methods:
- Investigating nose-to-brain delivery pathways.
- Utilizing receptor-mediated transcytosis for drug transport.
- Employing micro-bubbles-associated focused ultrasounds for targeted delivery.
Main Results:
- Promising advancements in accessing brain tumors have emerged.
- These techniques demonstrate encouraging results in improving drug penetration to the brain.
Conclusions:
- Despite potential limitations, the benefit-risk balance of these methods is favorable.
- Novel non-invasive strategies may offer future treatment options for CNS tumors.
