New research from the University of Sussex holds promise for extending life expectancy and enhancing treatment options for a common and aggressive brain cancer affecting thousands in the UK annually and hundreds of thousands globally.
Published in the Journal of Advanced Science, the study revealed that the protein PANK4, previously overlooked, can hinder cancer cells’ response to chemotherapy in glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer and if the protein is removed, cancer cells respond better to the main chemotherapy drug used globally for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma stands as one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer, with approximately 3,200 adults diagnosed annually in the UK and around 250,000 to 300,000 cases globally. Despite treatment with surgery, radiation, and the chemotherapy drug temozolomide, which initially yields positive responses, patients typically face a bleak prognosis, with a survival rate of just one to 18 months post-diagnosis due to the rapid development of resistance in cancer cells.
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