TORONTO: Canadian researchers are offering a new beacon of hope in the treatment of Glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer. This disease, which claimed the life of Canadian music icon Gord Downie, affects approximately 1,000 people in Canada each year, with experts noting that patients rarely survive more than a few months.
However, a groundbreaking new clinical study, which included nearly half of all Glioblastoma patients in Canada, is poised to change this reality. The promising results of the trial, published in The Lancet Oncology, detail an innovative treatment approach that uses Focused Ultrasound (FUS) to temporarily open the brain’s protective barrier, allowing microbubbles to deliver crucial medication.
This new technology addresses the primary challenge in brain cancer treatment: the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Patients are injected with a substance containing microscopic bubbles (microbubbles). Ultrasound waves are then directed at the barrier, causing the microbubbles to vibrate. This vibration safely and temporarily dismantles the barrier, enabling chemotherapy drugs to effectively access the cancerous tumor and the surrounding tissue that would otherwise be shielded.
The study included 34 Glioblastoma patients, many of whom were treated at centers including Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Data indicates that many patients in critical condition responded much better than expected due to the precise drug delivery.
Dr. Nir Lipsman, a neurosurgeon at Sunnybrook and Director of the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation, emphasized the significance of the findings. “It is time to consider what role this new treatment can play in the care of these patients,” he stated. One patient, 67-year-old Elina Mark, who was diagnosed in August 2024 and is part of the trial, reported hearing a vibrating sound during the procedure but experiencing no pain. Her disease is currently under control, marking a hopeful outlook for this new therapeutic approach.
