Scientists at UT Health San Antonio have found a promising way to stop glioblastoma—the deadliest type of brain cancer—from coming back after radiation treatment.
Their new approach uses an experimental type of drug called a “senolytic” to kill harmful cells that remain after radiation, potentially giving patients a better chance at long-term survival.
Glioblastoma is known for growing back quickly, often becoming even more aggressive after treatment.
Radiation is currently the best way to treat it, but researchers discovered that it can have an unintended side effect: it creates “senescent” cells—damaged cells that are still alive but no longer able to divide.
These senescent cells release substances that can help nearby cancer cells grow again, leading to a recurrence of the tumor.
The research team, led by Dr. Sandeep Burma and Dr. Bipasha Mukherjee, wanted to find a way to remove these harmful senescent cells after radiation.
Their idea was to use senolytics—drugs designed to destroy these aged cells without harming healthy ones.
In their study, they tested a senolytic drug called birinapant in mice with glioblastoma. They discovered that senescent glioblastoma cells depend on a protein called cIAP2 to survive. Birinapant blocks this protein, allowing the senescent cells to die off.
While the drug didn’t work well on its own, it worked very well when given after radiation treatment. In mouse models, this “one-two punch” approach—radiation first, followed by the senolytic—either slowed down or completely prevented the cancer from coming back.
Dr. Burma explained that radiation can be a double-edged sword. It’s good at killing cancer cells, but it can also cause long-term problems by creating the very cells that allow the cancer to return. The new treatment strategy aims to fix that by cleaning up the harmful leftovers.
The research was published in EMBO Molecular Medicine on February 19 and involved scientists from UT Health San Antonio, UT Southwestern Medical Center, and the Mayo Clinic.
These early results in mice are encouraging, and the team hopes that this approach will lead to better treatments for glioblastoma in humans. If successful, it could bring new hope to patients fighting this tough disease by not just treating it—but stopping it from coming back.
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