People with glioblastomas – a deadly brain tumour with no current cure – face just a five per cent chance of surviving beyond five years following a diagnosis, according to a cancer charity
An inexpensive drug that is already available on the market could be effective against potentially life-threatening brain tumours, researchers have found.
Scientists at the ETH Zurich public research university in Switzerland, found antidepressants were effective at tackling glioblastomas. The aggressive, fast-growing tumour currently has no cure and affects an estimated 3,200 people in the UK every year.
According to the Brain Tumour Charity only 25 per cent of patients survive more than one year and five per cent live past five years. The Wanted’s Tom Parker died from the cancer in March 2022 just two years after he first announced his diagnosis.
There are not many drugs that can effectively tackle brain tumours as many cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. As a result, many drugs cannot bypass this protective layer to eliminate a tumour.
But researchers found antidepressants were able to pass through the barrier to get to the brain, according to The Sun. Scientists at the Swiss research university found the cheap antidepressant vortioxetine was able to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Dr Michael Weller, co-author and director of the University Hospital Zurich’s Department of Neurology, told The Mirror: “So far this is a preclinical study, but we are working on a clinical trial where we would add this drug to standard of care treatment. We are moderately optimistic that finally there is some new hope.”
The drug is known as Brintellix or Lundbeck in the UK and is typically given to adults who suffer major depression that has not been eased by other medication. The scientists tested 130 different drugs on tumour tissue form 40 cancer patients who had recently had surgery at University Hospital Zurich.
Not every antidepressant tested proved to have an effective response to tumour cells, but vortioxetine was the most effective. The drug showed “good efficacy” during the trials, especially when combined with current treatments for glioblastoma, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Dr Berend Snijder, who led the study said: “We started with this terrible tumour and found existing drugs that fight against it. We show how and why they work, and soon we’ll be able to test them on patients.”
Dr Weller added: “The advantage of vortioxetine is that it is safe and very cost-effective. As the drug has already been approved, it doesn’t have to undergo a complex approval procedure and could soon supplement the standard therapy for this deadly brain tumour.”
While he hopes it can be used to treat cancer, he stressed that it had only been tested on cells and mice. He warned against self medicating and stressed they should take the drug with supervision of their doctor.
The research team is now gearing up for two new clinical trials Should it prove effective in humans, it would be the first time in recent decades that an active substance was found to be effective against glioblastoma.
