Novel Strategies to Improve Delivery of Anticancer Drugs Across the Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma
School Name
Academic Magnet High School
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Cell and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Oral Presentation Award
1st Place
Abstract
Glioblastomas (GBM) are malignant WHO Grade IV brain tumors that are notorious for having a low median survival rate of 14.6 months when treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Drug delivery to GBM is inhibited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a selectively permeable membrane that is necessary to preserve homeostasis and prevent harmful toxins from entering the brain. Medications are often unable to treat brain tumors as a result of this hindrance, which may be one contributing factor to the low median survival rate of GBM. Currently, many different methods of drug delivery to help bypass the BBB have been researched, but each method has its drawbacks. This study observed the role of Alzet pumps as a potential novel treatment method to bypass the BBB. The research group used ten humanized mice models to test the effects of LCL-768 on GBM with the use of Alzet pumps compared to a control group that only used the GB vehicle. Based on the data and observations from the use of Alzet pumps, the researcher was able to discover more about the relationship between GBM and the BBB. Alzet pumps also proved to be successful in allowing the drugs to bypass the BBB to treat GBM. In the future, the use of Alzet pumps in conjunction with LCL-768 could be tested with larger animal models and could eventually be taken to clinical trials to further test the effects of them as an efficient drug delivery strategy to improve the outlook of patients with GBM.
Recommended Citation
Carter, Adriana, "Novel Strategies to Improve Delivery of Anticancer Drugs Across the Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma" (2019). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 136.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2019/all/136
Location
Founders Hall 114 A
Start Date
3-30-2019 11:30 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
Novel Strategies to Improve Delivery of Anticancer Drugs Across the Blood-Brain Barrier to Treat Glioblastoma
Founders Hall 114 A
Glioblastomas (GBM) are malignant WHO Grade IV brain tumors that are notorious for having a low median survival rate of 14.6 months when treated with chemotherapy and radiation. Drug delivery to GBM is inhibited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a selectively permeable membrane that is necessary to preserve homeostasis and prevent harmful toxins from entering the brain. Medications are often unable to treat brain tumors as a result of this hindrance, which may be one contributing factor to the low median survival rate of GBM. Currently, many different methods of drug delivery to help bypass the BBB have been researched, but each method has its drawbacks. This study observed the role of Alzet pumps as a potential novel treatment method to bypass the BBB. The research group used ten humanized mice models to test the effects of LCL-768 on GBM with the use of Alzet pumps compared to a control group that only used the GB vehicle. Based on the data and observations from the use of Alzet pumps, the researcher was able to discover more about the relationship between GBM and the BBB. Alzet pumps also proved to be successful in allowing the drugs to bypass the BBB to treat GBM. In the future, the use of Alzet pumps in conjunction with LCL-768 could be tested with larger animal models and could eventually be taken to clinical trials to further test the effects of them as an efficient drug delivery strategy to improve the outlook of patients with GBM.
