Mapping glioblastoma spread for more effective treatments
Research we’re funding in partnership with The Oli Hilsdon Foundation at University College London is using advanced brain mapping to reveal how glioblastoma spreads and resists treatment, providing insight for potential new treatments.
By Miranda Daly
Glioblastoma is one of the most common types of brain tumour in adults. Despite medical advancements, it remains one of the toughest tumours to treat. The current treatments include a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. While these therapies can help manage the disease, glioblastomas are aggressive and often regrow and can become resistant to further treatment. With thanks and recognition to our generous Family Led Charity partner, The Oli Hilsdon Foundation, who has fully funded this £1.5million vital piece of research aimed at better understanding glioblastoma behaviour.
The challenges
One of the main challenges in treating glioblastoma is its ability to spread into healthy brain tissue. This often makes it impossible to remove the whole tumour during surgery. Tiny traces of cancer cells can remain hidden in the brain after surgery, leading to the tumour growing back. Understanding how glioblastoma spreads and interacts with surrounding normal brain cells is important for developing more effective treatments.
Studying glioblastoma is especially difficult because the tumour cells invade deep into the brain. This makes them hard to see, even using powerful lab imaging tools and scans. Glioblastomas have many different types of cells within a single tumour. These cells vary in how they look under a microscope, how quickly they grow and how they respond to treatment. No two tumours are the same, which makes it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all treatment for people facing this devastating disease.
Overcoming these challenges
Professor Simona Parrinello
Professor Simona Parrinello, at University College London, is studying how glioblastoma cells invade different brain areas. We have awarded this project £1.5m over five years through our Quest for Cures grant scheme.
Using cutting-edge lab techniques, Simona’s team are looking at where tumour cells meet healthy cells. By closely observing how these cancer cells interact with different parts of the brain, they hope to identify what makes glioblastoma cells so resistant to treatments.
Developing better models
The team used lab models that closely mimic human glioblastoma tumours in how they look, grow, and interact with the healthy brain.
To study these models, the team used a method called spatial transcriptomics. This allows the researchers to create a map of how different genes are being turned on and off in different parts of the tumour. The genetic map gives a detailed picture of how the tumour behaves as it spreads. With this knowledge, the researchers compared the tumour cells with healthy brain cells, which allowed them to better understand the differences between them.
Using these models, the researchers also looked at improving imaging methods like MRI scans and applied a method to make brain tissue transparent. This allowed the team to view how the tumour interacts with the rest of the brain in great detail. They also developed mathematical models to simulate how the tumour invades the brain. The researchers combined these models with the genetic mapping to help predict tumour behaviour and guide future treatments.
Key findings
The team discovered that the growing tumour damages the surrounding normal brain and this, in turn, encourages further tumour growth.
This finding was unexpected and excitingly, prompted the researchers to shift their focus. The team are now exploring drugs that, by reducing brain damage, slow down tumour growth. This new angle may reveal ways to disrupt glioblastoma progress more effectively than before.
Scientific research rarely follows a straightforward path. Researchers often start with a clear direction, but as they uncover new pieces of the puzzle, they have to be ready to adapt. This is really important because research can be unpredictable and challenging at times. Scientists need to be able to change direction in order to follow exciting leads that might one day improve how brain tumours are treated.
This research would not be possible without the support of The Oli Hilsdon Foundation, set up in loving memory of Oli, who lost his battle with a glioblastoma – in January 2019, just 10 days before his 27th birthday.
Georgia Perry-Hilsdon, Chair of The Oli Hilsdon Foundation said on its behalf:
We are immensely proud to have fully funded this pioneering project led by Professor Simona Parrinello in partnership with The Brain Tumour Charity. The team’s dedication, motivation and compassion inspires us, along with their unique approach to tackling this devastating disease. Their research gives hope that a breakthrough is possible to every single person with a glioblastoma
