Experts find way to stop deadly brain cancer in tracks as researchers laud tests on mice

Scientists at University College London (UCL) say they think they have found a way to slow glioblastoma in its tracks by blocking a key brain protein.

The deadly tumour kills half of sufferers within a year but new tests on mice showed how the tumours spread fastest in the brain's white matter, packed with nerve cell connections called axons.

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The cancer shreds these connections and triggers a bodily response called Wallerian degenerations, which in turn creates inflammation that helps the cancer spread further.

The team at UCL believe that targeting the protein responsible for clearing away axons could prevent the tumour from using Wallerian degeneration to spread.

Mr Ciaran Hill, consultant neurosurgeon at University College London Hospital and co-author of the study, said: "Our findings show that there is an early stage of this disease that we might be able to treat more effectively.

"By interfering with the brain's response to injury before the disease becomes intractable, we can potentially change how tumours behave, locking them in a more benign state."

The groundbreaking finding opens new avenues for investigation which could provide the basis for new treatment for the disease.

Tanya Hollands, research information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "This research offers a fresh perspective on how glioblastomas grow and affect the brain.

"While this work is still in its early stages and has so far only been demonstrated in mice, it lays important groundwork for developing treatments that could not only extend life, but also improve patients' quality of life."