New formulation for treating glioblastoma developed

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a vigorous brain cancer with few treatment options and a poor prognosis; thus, there is an urgent need for effective and new approaches to GBM treatment.

Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital have created a biomimetic formulation based on observation of elevated lactate in resected GBM, using targeted delivery agents for lactate metabolism-based synergistic therapy against GBM.

An attractive tumour therapeutic strategy involves targeting lactate metabolism. However, no evidence directly harnesses lactate metabolism for GBM treatments. One limitation is the prevention of most drug molecules from reaching the brain, which results from the blood-brain barrier.

In addition, lactate metabolic monotherapy is very improbable to successfully remove GBM cells, bearing in mind the infiltrating characteristics and complexity of GBM. Therefore, creating synergistic strategies to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of lactate metabolic therapy is essential.

In the study, the researchers measured the lactate metabolic indicators MCT4 and LDHA and representative proliferation marker Ki67 in glioma samples acquired from a significant number of patients.