Family of Shefford man living with terminal brain cancer welcome world-first research which could help treatment

Adam Dilley, aged 34, of Shefford, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive and currently incurable brain tumour, just weeks before the birth of his son in late 2021.

What was initially thought to be sinusitis turned out to be a deadly brain tumour after he experienced headaches, blurred vision and jaw pain. Despite undergoing surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Adam’s tumour has since returned.

In a world first, the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at Queen Mary University of London has developed an innovative new technique for studying glioblastoma recurrence, successfully mimicking the human treatment process in implanted human glioblastoma models.

Each year in the UK, 3,200 people are diagnosed with a glioblastoma, which carries an average survival time of just 12 to18 months. Although treatments like surgery and chemotherapy are initially used, the tumour almost always comes back, often with a different genetic makeup, leaving patients with very few treatment options.

Adam’s father, Mark said: “We are in a position where Adam’s glioblastoma has reached the stage where it has a significantly different composition to the original tumour. Despite recent rounds of IV chemotherapy, we have been told that there are no further treatments available for Adam’s situation. This has been devastating news which we knew we would have to face eventually but is nonetheless heartbreaking. This new research will give future patients hope where people past and present have very little.”

Now, researchers funded by the Milton Keynes based charity Brain Tumour Research have been able to accurately replicate how glioblastoma tumours recur and evolve after treatment. This new technique means that they can now study the differences between recurrent and primary tumours from the same patient in greater detail.

The study, published in the journal Embo Molecular Medicine, was led by Professor Silvia Marino, Professor of Neuropathology at Queen Mary University of London.

Professor Marino said: “This innovative approach not only furthers our understanding of the biology of glioblastoma recurrence but also opens the door to personalised medicine. By analysing the genetic and molecular changes in the recurrent tumours, researchers may be able to identify patient-specific vulnerabilities. This means that in the future, treatments could be tailored to the unique characteristics of each patient's recurrent tumour, improving the chances of successful treatments when first-line therapy has failed.”

As part of the study, researchers showed that ciliated cells, which are protected by tiny hair-like structures – cilia – making them more resistant to treatment, are more prevalent in recurring glioblastoma.

The team found targeting these ciliated cells with a drug called Mebendazole – a readily available over-the-counter medicine, commonly used to treat threadworm – could make them more sensitive to chemotherapy, potentially opening up a wider range of treatment options for patients.

Researchers identified more than 3,000 genes which activated differently within the recurred tumour. Now, they are working to ascertain whether there are already existing approved drugs which can be repurposed to treat them.

Dr Karen Noble, Director of Research, Policy and Innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said: “This exciting development offers real hope to glioblastoma patients who have, until now, been left with no treatment options following a recurrence. We need to keep funding this early-stage research because this is the only way we will find new and improved treatments.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

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