Using mice and cell models, scientists have revealed a new treatment for one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a common brain disease, with a poor survival rate up to 5 years, in only five per cent of patients.
Researchers at the University of Surrey and the University of Leeds, and HOX Therapeutics all in the UK and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA, used a peptide (HTL-001) to stop the genes (Hox genes) responsible for the growth of GBM.
The peptide used in the study has undergone safety testing and is now suitable for patient trials.
"We desperately need new treatment avenues for these aggressive brain tumours. Targeting developmental genes like the HOX genes that are abnormally switched on in the tumour cells could be a novel and effective way to stop glioblastomas growing and becoming life-threatening.", said Professor Susan Short, of the University of Leeds.
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