Cancer Cell: A potential combination therapy for deadly brain cancer

A Ludwig Cancer Institute study found a combination of three existing drugs that significantly extended the survival of
a mouse model of deadly brain cancer polymorphoblastoma (GBM).

Hanahan, a distinguished scholar at the Ludwig Cancer Institute Lausanne Branch, said: "Our investigation shows the great potential
of using drugs for cancer treatment.

Hanahan and his colleagues have been exploring in preclinical studies whether drug combinations that target tumors' unique growth-promoting properties may work together to stop or reverse disease progression
.

In this study, the researchers tested whether a drug that targets the unrelated phenomenon of tumor vascular abnormalities in combination with imipramine further improved the results
.

The researchers found that the combined use of imipramine and vegf-blocking antibodies significantly delayed tumor progression in GBM mice and increased survival time
.

An analogue of human-specific bevacizumab that targets VEGF angiogenesis factor in mice has been shown to reshape tumor blood vessels
in a way that promotes T cell infiltration.

But that's not all
.

However, although this combination of drugs prolongs survival, its effect is not very long-lasting
.

So far, this treatment has failed in the treatment of GBM in
humans.

"Because every therapy is already in clinical use," Hanahan says, "they don't need to go through the time-consuming pharmacological development and safety testing
required for new drugs.

In fact, the first phase of pilot trials is already planned to evaluate drug combinations
.