Tumor size reduced by 50% to 70%, according to a study in Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism.
College of Wisconsin researchers report that drugs used to inhibit the fatty acid CYP epoxygenase in rat brains with glioblastoma-like tumors prolonged survival. This treatment method also reduced new blood vessel growth and tumor size dramatically.
These scientists previously found that specific fatty acids generated in the brain induce new blood vessel growth. They thus hypothesized that blocking formation of specific fatty acids would decrease blood vessel growth and oxygen supply to tumors, retarding their growth.
The investigators thus decided to compare three sets of rats with induced tumors. Two groups received a drug, either 17-ODYA or miconazole, to block the fatty acid CYP epoxygenase. The third was the control group. Drugs were infused directly into the tumors over an extended period of time, using miniature osmotic pumps and a very small burr hole in the skull. The pumps, similar to those used in humans, were buried just beneath the skin through a tiny incision.
Compared to the control group, tumor size in the drug-infused groups was reduced by an average 50% to 70%. Survival time increased by five to seven days, equivalent to three to four months in terms of human survival, according to the researchers.
“These pumps have been used in humans for other diseases and can be designed for delivery of these drugs as well,” notes Dr. Harder. “We believe they can be used to deliver drugs to block angiogenesis in complex human tumors such as glioblastomas.”
The study appears in the August edition of Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism.
