Scientists may have found a magic bullet to increase the effectiveness of treatments for brain cancer, it was announced last night.
The British researchers say they have found that a protein can both track down areas of the brain where cancer is spreading – and enable drugs to reach it.
It does this by creating temporary openings in the blood-brain barrier, which protects the brain from infections.
The barrier has always created problems for the development of drugs for brain diseases.
So far the research has shown that the protein TNF can work with the breast cancer drug herceptin.
The research has so far been undertaken on laboratory mice and in other laboratory conditions.
The researchers, from Oxford University, UK, revealed their findings in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researcher Dr Nicola Sibson said: “Treatments that work very well against the original site of the cancer lose their effectiveness when the cancer spreads to the brain – as these drugs are prevented from getting to the tumour because of the blood-brain-barrier.
“A number of attempts have been made to open up the blood-brain barrier – but they’ve all struggled because they’re either not specific enough to open the BBB only at the site of the tumour or not effective enough to allow the drug across to kill the cancer.”
Dr Kat Arney, of Cancer Research UK, which backed the research, said the finding was "exciting" and potentially "game-changing".
She said: “Getting treatments through the blood-brain barrier remains one of the greatest challenges for cancer researchers.
"We now need to test this approach in cancer patients to see if it will have the same effect.”
Connell, J. J., et al Selective permeabilization of the blood-brain barrier at sites of metastasis Journal of the National Cancer Institute 9 October 2013
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