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Schupper AJ, Hadjipanayis CG. Novel approaches to targeting gliomas at the leading/cutting edge. J Neurosurg 2023; 139:760-768. [PMID: 36840741 PMCID: PMC11225597 DOI: 10.3171/2023.1.jns221798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
Despite decades of clinical trials and surgical advances, the most common high-grade glioma, glioblastoma (GBM), remains an incurable disease with a dismal prognosis. Because of its infiltrative nature, GBM almost always recurs at the margin, or leading edge, where tumor cells invade the surrounding brain parenchyma. This region of GBMs is unique, or heterogeneous, with its own microenvironment that is different from the tumor bulk or core. The GBM microenvironment at the margin contains immunosuppressive constituents as well as invasive and therapy-resistant tumor cells that are difficult to treat. In addition, the blood-brain barrier remains essentially intact at the infiltrative margin of tumors; further limiting the effectiveness of therapies. The invasive margin creates the greatest challenge for neurosurgeons when managing these tumors. The current paradigm of resection of GBM tumors mainly focuses on resection of the contrast-enhancing component of tumors, while GBMs extend well beyond the contrast enhancement. The infiltrative margin represents a unique challenge and opportunity for solutions that may overcome current limitations in tumor treatments. In this review of the current literature, the authors discuss the current and developing advances focused on the detection and treatment of GBM at the infiltrative margin and how this could impact patient outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J. Schupper
- Department of Neurosurgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
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Leong KX, Sharma D, Czarnota GJ. Focused Ultrasound and Ultrasound Stimulated Microbubbles in Radiotherapy Enhancement for Cancer Treatment. Technol Cancer Res Treat 2023; 22:15330338231176376. [PMID: 37192751 DOI: 10.1177/15330338231176376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Radiation therapy (RT) has been the standard of care for treating a multitude of cancer types. However, ionizing radiation has adverse short and long-term side effects which have resulted in treatment complications for decades. Thus, advances in enhancing the effects of RT have been the primary focus of research in radiation oncology. To avoid the usage of high radiation doses, treatment modalities such as high-intensity focused ultrasound can be implemented to reduce the radiation doses required to destroy cancer cells. In the past few years, the use of focused ultrasound (FUS) has demonstrated immense success in a number of applications as it capitalizes on spatial specificity. It allows ultrasound energy to be delivered to a targeted focal area without harming the surrounding tissue. FUS combined with RT has specifically demonstrated experimental evidence in its application resulting in enhanced cell death and tumor cure. Ultrasound-stimulated microbubbles have recently proved to be a novel way of enhancing RT as a radioenhancing agent on its own, or as a delivery vector for radiosensitizing agents such as oxygen. In this mini-review article, we discuss the bio-effects of FUS and RT in various preclinical models and highlight the applicability of this combined therapy in clinical settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Xuan Leong
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Deepa Sharma
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gregory J Czarnota
- Physical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Lee H, Guo Y, Ross JL, Schoen S, Degertekin FL, Arvanitis C. Spatially targeted brain cancer immunotherapy with closed-loop controlled focused ultrasound and immune checkpoint blockade. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eadd2288. [PMID: 36399574 PMCID: PMC9674274 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add2288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Despite the challenges in treating glioblastomas (GBMs) with immune adjuvants, increasing evidence suggests that targeting the immune cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) can lead to improved responses. Here, we present a closed-loop controlled, microbubble-enhanced focused ultrasound (MB-FUS) system and test its abilities to safely and effectively treat GBMs using immune checkpoint blockade. The proposed system can fine-tune the exposure settings to promote MB acoustic emission-dependent expression of the proinflammatory marker ICAM-1 and delivery of anti-PD1 in a mouse model of GBM. In addition to enhanced interaction of proinflammatory macrophages within the PD1-expressing TME and significant improvement in survival (P < 0.05), the combined treatment induced long-lived memory T cell formation within the brain that supported tumor rejection in rechallenge experiments. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the ability of MB-FUS to augment the therapeutic impact of immune checkpoint blockade in GBMs and reinforce the notion of spatially tumor-targeted (loco-regional) brain cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hohyun Lee
- G.W. School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Yutong Guo
- G.W. School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - James L. Ross
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Scott Schoen
- Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - F. Levent Degertekin
- G.W. School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Costas Arvanitis
- G.W. School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Atlanta, GA, USA
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