The ultrasound technology may have broader benefits. "This ultrasound technology now will enable us to use many agents established in other cancers for patients with brain tumors," said co-investigator Roger Stupp, chief of neuro-oncology and the Paul C. Bucy Professor of Neurological Surgery at Feinberg.
Other clinical trials are testing ultrasound-based opening of the blood brain barrier with various chemotherapy agents, but none are using such a potent drug as paclitaxel.
How does it work?
The tiny ultrasound would be implanted during surgery into a window in the skull that does not contain bone. It is used in combination with microscopic gas bubbles injected into the blood at the same time the ultrasound begins. When the bubbles hit the sound waves, these vibrate and mechanically disrupt the blood-brain barrier. The opening is immediate, allowing penetration of the drug molecules. The blood-brain barrier opening is reversible and lasts for several hours after the sonication. The ultrasound emitter remains in the skull for repeated delivery of the drug.
Other Northwestern authors include first author Daniel Y. Zhang, Crismita Dmello, Li Chen, Victor A. Arrieta, Edgar Gonzalez-Buendia, J. Robert Kane, Lisa P. Magnusson, Aneta Baran , C. David James and Craig Horbinski.
David Zhang, Roger Stupp and Adam Sonabend are listed as co-inventors on a patent regarding the application of albumin-bound paclitaxel in combination with ultrasound for treatment of brain tumors, owned and filed by Northwestern University. Stupp is an unpaid consultant/advisory board member for CarThera, the manufacturer of the ultrasound device being developed.
This work was funded by National Institutes of Health grants 5DP5OD021356-04 (AS), P50CA221747, NCI CCSG P30, CA060553, NCI P30-CA060553 and P50CA221747.
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