New research has shown that glioblastoma melts the skull and replaces immune cells, showing that this cancer can spread throughout the body. This discovery can lead to targeting both brain and bone.
Health news: Scientists have found that glioblastoma, the most deadly form of brain cancer, not only affects the brain, but it can strangle the skull and also hijack the body’s immune system. This new study by Montefior Einstein Compressive Cancer Center (MECCC) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine has shown that glioblastoma opens small channels between the marrow and brain of the skull, which further promotes inflammation immune cells tumors.
Vomiting can be vomited, targeted therapy needs
Advanced imaging on mice and CT scans of patients revealed that glioblastoma strangles the bones of the skull, especially near the joints and disturbs the balance of immune cells inside the skull marrows. The study found that inflammatory cells such as neutrophils increased rapidly, while antibodies required B-cells almost disappeared.
Dr. Jinan Behanan, assistant professor in Einstein and a writer of study published in Nature Neuroscience, said, “This discovery can reveal that the current treatment of glioblastoma, which only focus on the brain, often fails.”
Interestingly, anti-osteoporosis drugs made to prevent bone damage prevents scalp erosion, but in some cases, they make the tumor more aggressive or obstruct the body’s immunotherapy drugs. This suggests that a delicate balance is needed when targeting both bone and tumor.
This study sees glioblastoma not just brain disease, but as a systemic disease, which opens new avenues for targeting the immune system of both the brain and bone.