, the five-year survival rate for diagnosed glioblastoma patients is 6.8%, while the average length of survival is only eight months. More than 13,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with glioblastoma annually, and over 10,000 die from it every year.These cancers are difficult to treat for many reasons. They tend to be very aggressive and fast-growing, for one.
than the current standard. But researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere, led by chemical and biomolecular engineer Honggang Cui, wanted to try a different approach. They theorized that they could find an improved way to deliver existing drugs to the brain. A video clip shows how the liquid substance self-assembles into a gel when injected into a saline solution.
A video clip shows how the liquid substance self-assembles into a gel when injected into a saline solution. To do this, they converted the drug paclitaxel, an FDA-approved treatment for many cancers, into a solution that turns itself into a hydrogel once inside the brain. They then mixed in an antibody that attacks a protein called CD47. CD47 is normally found on the surface of many cells, but some cancers use CD47 to protect themselves from being eaten by immune cells called macrophages. So the antibody is intended to turn off this protection.