A few drops of medicine placed in a mouse’s nose have shown to clear aggressive brain cancer tumors by sparking a localized immune system attack.
Some treated mice later resisted a new tumor, suggesting the therapy can train the immune system for longer protection.
In tests reported in a research paper, nasal droplets carried an immune-activating payload into brain tumors.
Tagged particles helped Alexander H. Stegh, Ph.D., at Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine) confirm that the droplets reached tumors.
The research group saw the signal concentrate in immune cells inside the brain tumor, not in the rest of the body.
That kind of delivery could spare patients repeated brain injections, but it still needs a way to beat tumor defenses.
Tumors and the blood-brain barrier
Doctors often call this…