Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most lethal brain tumor, with a median survival rate of merely 12-16 months after diagnosis . Despite surgical, radiation and chemotherapy treatments, the two-year survival rate for GBM patients is less than 10%. Two major challenges hinder effective GBM treatment: the limited penetration of anti-tumor drugs into GBM tissues because of the blood-brain-barrier.
the rapid development of resistance by GBM cells to almost all treatments. Researchers with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James and Richard J.
Solove Research Institute are trying to resolve these two paramount issues to improve outcomes. In a major finding with our study, we discovered combining the brain-penetrating antipsychotic drug pimozide with a clinically investigative glutamine metabolism inhibitor, CB-839, can overcome tumor resistance and effectively suppress GBM growth." Deliang Guo, PhD, study lead author, founding director of the Center for Cancer Metabolism Guo also is the Urban and Shelly Meyer Professor of Cancer Research with the OSUCCC – James Translational Therapeutics Program and a professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
Study findings are published online in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The study involved both humans and mice. Researchers analyzed 223 glioma patient samples and identified the previously unknown connection between the glutamine transporter ASCT2 protein and a key lipogenic regulator, SREBP-1.
.