The funded research is led by Rahima Benhabbour, principal investigator and associate professor of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University. Co-PIs for the project include Paul Dayton, department chair and William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor, and Shawn Hingtgen, professor in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Department of Neurosurgery. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant was awarded to the team for their proposed research on glioblastoma treatment.
This article was written by Kathleen Clardy for Joint Biomedical Engineering Communications
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a challenging and aggressive brain tumor that can grow quickly and cause seizures, headaches, and muscle weakness, as well as coordination, speech, memory, hearing, and vision problems. GBM is notorious for its rapid recurrence, even after aggressive treatments like surgery and radiation, with less than 5% surviving five years after diagnosis. Current treatments are limited and there is an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches to enhance survival rates and improve the quality of life for patients battling this devastating disease.
The Benhabbour Research Laboratory has extensive experience engineering polymer-based delivery platforms for the treatment and prevention of disease, including using hydrogels as a scaffold for GBM treatment. With support from the NCI grant, the research team aims to leverage neural stem cells (NSCs), which have shown promise as “tumor-killer” cell factories that can target and destroy cancerous cells. Neural stem cells have already been explored for their ability to regenerate damaged tissue in the central nervous system, and additional studies demonstrate that NSCs can correctly target GMB cells. However, NSCs also have a relatively poor ability to remain in the targeted location to treat the tumor and can clear from the site too quickly, reducing their therapeutic potential. This project aims to solve this problem by improving the delivery and persistence of NSCs within the brain.
Innovative Approaches: Hydrogels and Focused Ultrasound
The team’s novel approach includes two cutting-edge technologies to improve the effectiveness of NSC therapy: a biodegradable hydrogel scaffold coupled with non-invasive redosing using focused ultrasound. The hydrogel scaffold will support NSC delivery and allow for sustained release of therapeutics over months, improving their ability to stay in the brain long enough to fight the tumor. Focused ultrasound will also be used to deliver additional doses of NSCs non-invasively across the blood-brain barrier, allowing for periodic redosing without the need for additional surgeries. Using this highly precise, incision-free method of delivering treatments to the brain combined with the hydrogel scaffold, researchers have the potential to greatly improve treatment outcomes.
According to the National Cancer Institute’s website, the organization supports research on developing tests and imaging technologies to improve cancer diagnosis and efforts to develop more effective, less toxic treatments. R01 grants are the National Institute of Health’s most used grant program to fund research projects.
For more information on the research team’s federally awarded project “Enhanced Delivery of Cytotoxic Neural Stem Cells for Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme Using an Innovative In-situ Thermogelling Hydrogel and Focused Ultrasound,” please visit this page.
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01CA286609. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
For more information about the Benhabbour Research Laboratory, please visit the laboratory’s website here.
To learn more about the Dayton Lab, please visit their website here.
For more information about The Hingtgen Lab, their official website can be found here.