Mapping glioblastoma spread for more effective treatments

Glioblastoma is one of the most common types of brain tumour in adults. Despite medical advances, it remains one of the toughest tumours to treat. Current treatments include a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. While these therapies can help manage the disease, glioblastomas are aggressive, often regrow and can become resistant to further treatment.

Thanks to our generous Family Led Charity partner, The Oli Hilsdon Foundation, which has fully funded this £1.5million vital piece of research, we aim to get a better understanding of glioblastoma behaviour.

The challenges

One of the main challenges in treating glioblastoma is its ability to spread into healthy brain tissue. This often makes it impossible to remove the whole tumour during surgery. Tiny traces of cancer cells can remain hidden in the brain after surgery, leading to tumour regrowth. Understanding how glioblastoma spreads and interacts with surrounding healthy brain cells is important for developing more effective treatments.

Studying glioblastoma is especially difficult because the tumour cells invade deep into the brain. This makes them hard to see, even using powerful lab imaging tools and scans. Glioblastomas have many different types of cells within a single tumour. These cells vary in how they look under a microscope, how quickly they grow and how they respond to treatment. No two tumours are the same, which makes it difficult to develop a one-size-fits-all treatment for people facing this devastating disease.

Overcoming these challenges

Using cutting-edge lab techniques, Simona’s team is looking at the areas where tumour cells meet healthy cells. By closely observing how these cancer cells interact with different parts of the brain, they hope to identify what makes glioblastoma cells so resistant to treatments.

Developing better models

The team used lab models that closely mimic human glioblastoma tumours in how they look, grow, and interact with the healthy brain. 

To study these models, the team used a method called spatial transcriptomics. This allows researchers to create a map showing how different genes are being turned on and off in different parts of the tumour. This provides a detailed genetic picture of how the tumour behaves as it spreads. With this knowledge, the researchers compared the tumour cells with healthy brain cells, to gain a better understanding of the differences between them. 

Using these models, the researchers also looked at improving imaging methods like MRI scans and applied a method to make brain tissue transparent. This allowed the team to view how the tumour interacts with the rest of the brain in great detail. They also developed mathematical models to simulate how the tumour invades the brain. The researchers combined these models with the genetic mapping to help predict tumour behaviour and guide future treatments.  

Key findings

Detailed in their recent publication in Nature, the team discovered that tumour growth damages white matter, which is made up of brain cells called neurons. This causes neurons to die and brain inflammation, driving more tumour growth.

This finding was unexpected and excitingly, prompted the researchers to shift their focus. They are now exploring drugs that protect neurons, some of which are already in clinical trials for other neurological conditions, as potential therapies for glioblastoma. In their models, reducing neuronal damage not only extended survival but also protected cognitive and physical functions. This new angle may reveal ways to disrupt glioblastoma progress more effectively than before. You can read more about this exciting finding here.

Scientific research rarely follows a straightforward path. Researchers often start with a clear direction, but as they uncover new pieces of the puzzle, they have to be ready to adapt. This is really important because, at times, research can be unpredictable and challenging. Scientists need to be able to change direction in order to follow exciting leads that might one day improve how brain tumours are treated. 

This research would not be possible without the support of The Oli Hilsdon Foundation, set up in loving memory of Oli, who lost his battle with a glioblastoma – in January 2019, just 10 days before his 27th birthday.  

On its behalf, Chair Georgia Perry-Hilsdon said: 

We are immensely proud to have fully funded this pioneering project led by Professor Simona Parrinello in partnership with The Brain Tumour Charity. The team’s dedication, motivation and compassion inspires us, along with their unique approach to tackling this devastating disease. Their research gives hope that a breakthrough is possible to every single person with a glioblastoma

Georgia Perry-Hilsdon, Chair of the Oli Hilsdon Foundation

Read more about our partnership with The Oli Hilsdon Foundation here: The Oli Hilsdon Foundation smashes fundraising goal early!