Brain cancer being one of the most complex and deadly carcinomas puts threats on people especially those who are obese!

According to the US researchers of the journal Cancer Discovery, glioblastoma, the most fatal form of brain cancer, can be treated by hampering the access of cholesterol in the body which serves as food for some brain tumors.

Brain tumors rapidly divide and multiply. This means that they need much more nutrients from the body in order to grow and suffice the energy needed for multiplication, and cholesterol is one good source of energy. The newly proposed treatment as expressed by the researchers can be effective for tumors with an over-active PI3K signalling pathway, which includes nearly 9 in 10 glioblastomas.

A professor of pathology at the Jonsson Cancer Centre at the University of California Los Angeles said to one of his interviews that they discovered a mechanism that links a common cancer gene with altered cell metabolism, and preventing this mechanism can be a potential treatment for specific tumor which offers no significant toxicity.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common and  aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all functional tissue brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. However, it only occur in only 2–3 cases per 100,000 people in Europe and North America.

Since the cancer cells are located in the brain, it is extremely difficult for the healthcare professionals to select a treatment modality. Usually, surgery is advised, yet, it is highly crucial to do surgery because of the involvement of the brain tissue which is located in an enclosed space. Also, some people have this trait of making cancer cells resistant to the most common treatment modalities: chemotherapy and radiotherapy. “Some glioblastomas respond well to treatment initially when the therapy-sensitive cells are killed, but the tumor then returns relatively quickly as the therapy-resistant cells proliferate,” said Dr Arnab Chakravarti, Co-author, chair and professor of Radiation Oncology at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre (OSUCCC).

Overall, the findings of the researchers suggest that the development of pharmacological treatment which inhibits the pathway of cholesterol towards the cancer cells, may offer a therapeutic strategy to treat glioblastomas. Also, since the pathway is not specific in terms of its range, this can imply that it can also be applied to other types of cancer.

According to the American Center for Disease Control, having high cholesterol puts you at risk for heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. People of all ages and backgrounds can get high cholesterol.

-          Approximately one in every six adults—16.3% of the U.S. adult population—has high total cholesterol. The level defined as high total cholesterol is 240 mg/dL and above.

-          People with high total cholesterol have approximately twice the risk of heart disease as people with optimal levels. A desirable level is lower than 200 mg/dL.

-          For adult Americans, the average level is about 200 mg/dL, which is borderline high risk.

-          More women than men have high cholesterol in the United States.

email

print