Researchers halt the growth of invasive brain tumors in animal model

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University have designed a new approach that could be used in treating patients with invasive brain tumors. They were able to halt the spread of cancer cells into normal brain tissue in animals possessing an invasive tumor using a vesicle carrying a molecule called imipramine blue, followed by conventional doxorubicin chemotherapy. These animals survived longer than those only treated with chemotherapy. Imipramine blue appears to work by altering the regulation of actin, a protein found in all eukaryotic cells, which mediates a variety of essential biological functions, including the production of reactive oxygen species. “Our results show that imipramine blue stops tumor invasion into healthy tissue and enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy, which suggests that chemotherapy may be more effective when the target is stationary,” Ravi Bellamkonda, an author of the study, said.