Study Suggests That Chemotherapy Administration Time May Impact Effectiveness
A new study has found that chemotherapy that is administered at night can target brain tumors better, as observed in mouse models, in comparison to day-time administered chemotherapy. The researchers hypothesize that the blood-brain barrier may allow the cancer treatment to pass through more easily at night.
The blood-brain barrier helps prevent foreign substances such as germs and toxins from accessing the brain. However, it also makes it harder to treat tumors as it blocks chemotherapy from entering the brain. Currently, individuals on chemotherapy usually receive their treatment during the day.
The team of researchers carrying out the study is being led by West Virginia University researcher William Walker whose objective is to find out if this barrier will allow chemotherapy drugs to enter an individual’s brain better at different times of the day. Thus far, the researcher has discovered that the blood-brain barrier is less static and more dynamic, suggesting that chemotherapy treatments which are well timed may get to the tumors they are targeting more easily.
Walker, a postdoctoral fellow in the university’s Department of Neuroscience, stated that while this wasn’t the first study to demonstrate that chrono-chemotherapy was useful, it was the first to demonstrate that it could be used to treat brain metastasis.
For their study, the researchers administered chemotherapy to mice suffering from breast cancer that had metastasized to the brain. Some of the mice received the treatment in the dark, a time that resembled their active period as nocturnal animals, while others received treatment during the day, when the other group was at rest.
The researchers discovered that the treatment administered in the dark eliminated more brain tumor cells in comparison with treatment administered during the day. Chemotherapy treatments administered in the dark were also more effective in delaying the development of neurological symptoms, which include loss of muscle control. This is in addition to increasing the median rate of survival by roughly 20%.
These discoveries call attention to the importance of this particular area of study in humans and may one day be used to improve the outcomes of patients with brain tumors. Walker is currently focused on finding out whether the blood-brain barrier in humans shifts and whether it is more receptive to the cancer treatment at night or during the day, among other things. The research is being funded by the National Institutes of Health. Its findings were published in “Frontiers in Oncology.”
There is a lot of ongoing research aimed at coming up with better treatments for different types of cancer, and for-profit entities such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) have invested heavily in this quest since they stand to benefit once breakthroughs are identified.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
A new study has found that chemotherapy that is administered at night can target brain tumors better, as observed in mouse models, in comparison to day-time administered chemotherapy. The researchers hypothesize that the blood-brain barrier may allow the cancer treatment to pass through more easily at night.
The blood-brain barrier helps prevent foreign substances such as germs and toxins from accessing the brain. However, it also makes it harder to treat tumors as it blocks chemotherapy from entering the brain. Currently, individuals on chemotherapy usually receive their treatment during the day.
The team of researchers carrying out the study is being led by West Virginia University researcher William Walker whose objective is to find out if this barrier will allow chemotherapy drugs to enter an individual’s brain better at different times of the day. Thus far, the researcher has discovered that the blood-brain barrier is less static and more dynamic, suggesting that chemotherapy treatments which are well timed may get to the tumors they are targeting more easily.
Walker, a postdoctoral fellow in the university’s Department of Neuroscience, stated that while this wasn’t the first study to demonstrate that chrono-chemotherapy was useful, it was the first to demonstrate that it could be used to treat brain metastasis.
For their study, the researchers administered chemotherapy to mice suffering from breast cancer that had metastasized to the brain. Some of the mice received the treatment in the dark, a time that resembled their active period as nocturnal animals, while others received treatment during the day, when the other group was at rest.
The researchers discovered that the treatment administered in the dark eliminated more brain tumor cells in comparison with treatment administered during the day. Chemotherapy treatments administered in the dark were also more effective in delaying the development of neurological symptoms, which include loss of muscle control. This is in addition to increasing the median rate of survival by roughly 20%.
These discoveries call attention to the importance of this particular area of study in humans and may one day be used to improve the outcomes of patients with brain tumors. Walker is currently focused on finding out whether the blood-brain barrier in humans shifts and whether it is more receptive to the cancer treatment at night or during the day, among other things. The research is being funded by the National Institutes of Health. Its findings were published in “Frontiers in Oncology.”
There is a lot of ongoing research aimed at coming up with better treatments for different types of cancer, and for-profit entities such as CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) have invested heavily in this quest since they stand to benefit once breakthroughs are identified.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CNSP
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
