Brain tumors represent one of the most devastating forms of cancer, with a poor 5-year survival of only 32%. Among these, glioblastoma is known as the most aggressive form of brain cancer. The prognosis of these patients is even worse, with an overall survival of only 14-16 months after diagnosis. Surgery and treatment with chemo- and radiotherapy are able to prolong the life expectancy with only 2 months and no define treatment options are available after tumor recurrence. Moreover, due to the unique molecular composition of each tumor, only part of the patients responds to this standard therapy. In addition, the blood-brain barrier, a protective mechanism that regulates the passage of substances into the brain, hampers effective drug delivery.
Given the dire prognosis and limited therapeutic options for glioblastoma, the 4Brain lab is engaged in the search for effective and novel therapeutic modalities to treat this notorious disease. Our first research focus consists of drug repurposing: identifying existing therapeutics originally developed for other medical purposes and reusing them for the treatment of cancer. This could be of tremendous benefit for glioblastoma patients, since repurposed compounds may be implemented into the clinic much faster, because of their known safety profiles. Moreover, repurposed treatments are considered as highly cost-effective therapeutic options, compared to most newly developed drugs. Furthermore, the 4Brain lab focuses on novel strategies to improve drug delivery into the brain using focused ultrasound. By the use of this cutting-edge technology, we aim to open up the blood-brain barrier in a non-invasive way to obtain higher drug concentrations into the brain, eventually improving treatment efficacy.
Our lab has extensive collaborations with experts in the field and the Department of Neurosurgery and Radiotherapy of Ghent University hospital, ensuring the transition of our promising findings from the lab to patient care.
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