New treatments for glioblastoma multiforme

Andrea Harleton builds new chemotherapy molecules to tackle brain tumours.

In the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton, student Andrea Harleton is creating entirely new molecules that might, like targeted missiles, help to blow away brain tumours.

Brain tumours are not made from neurons in the brain. As Professor John Darling explains: ‘Instead, they’re made from tough cells that are there to protect the neurons. Their job is to mop up toxins that get into the brain and that consequently makes them very resistant to the toxic therapies that kill other cancers. Radiotherapy is very useful but the brain is rather sensitive to it and you can’t just increase the dose because you can kill the patient. What’s needed is some sort of intelligent, targeted chemotherapy instead.’

Professor Darling directs the Institute of Healthcare Science where researchers like Andrea are building these new chemotherapy molecules in the lab. ‘We’re making what are grandly called chimeric molecules – molecules with several bits to them,’ explains John. ‘The first important bit must be capable of finding and binding specifically to brain tumour cells. The second part is a cell-penetrating peptide which can carry a conventional cytotoxic drug to the right place.’

We need intelligent, targeted chemotherapy to reach
tumours in the brain, says Professor Darling

In laboratory studies, John and his colleagues Professor John Howl and Dr Iain Nicholl have already shown that by combining the cytotoxic drug with the right peptides, it can improve the drug’s ability to kill the cancer by a thousand fold. John’s team is now narrowing down their lab-made molecules to find the best candidates for the next stage of testing.