Euronews reports that researchers have discovered a method that causes cancer cells to self-destruct due to stress.
Their research has yielded promising results for glioblastoma, one of the most common and dangerous types of brain tumors in adults. This condition is expected to affect approximately 19,000 people each year in the European Union (EU).
Scientists have caused cancer cells to self-destruct in a breakthrough method for treating brain tumors. (Illustration: Canva).
The treatment methods for glioblastoma have not changed significantly since the early 2000s, primarily involving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. The average survival time for a patient diagnosed with this condition is 15 months.
Eric Chevet, head of the cancer research laboratory at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, stated: “Cancer cells are under stress. They are abnormal. They utilize stress response mechanisms to gain an advantage.”
According to him, these cells have the advantage of being more resilient, stronger, and more mobile, which allows them to better withstand additional stresses such as chemotherapy.
In the case of glioblastoma, the cells utilize a protein called IRE1 as part of their stress response mechanism, making them more resistant to cancer drugs. This stage is known as “target identification.”
Researchers from France and Sweden investigated whether manipulating this process could weaken cancer cells. They recently published their promising findings in the journal iScience.
They conducted their research in three steps. First, the research team in Sweden worked on computational models. They screened approximately 15 million molecules and ran simulations to predict how they would react with proteins in the body. Z4P was identified as a potentially useful molecule.
The second step involved cell experiments to test the effects of this molecule on cancer cells.
They discovered that the Z4P molecule not only made cancer cells less resilient but also inhibited their mobility—one of the traits that makes glioblastoma so dangerous.
Finally, the researchers tested their findings on living organisms. They used this molecule to target cancer cells in mice in combination with temozolomide (TMZ), a chemotherapy drug commonly used in glioblastoma treatment.
They found that the combination treatment weakened the cancer cells’ ability to resist stress while significantly shrinking tumor size. The role of the Z4P molecule became evident.
When only TMZ was used, tumors returned after a period of 100 to 150 days. However, with the combination of TMZ and the Z4P molecule, all cancer cells disappeared, and the mice did not experience cancer recurrence after 200 days.
Despite these promising results, the scientific community still needs to conduct further research to develop a new treatment drug.
Chevet noted that in the most optimistic scenario, patients might have to wait another 15 years to receive treatment using this method. The Z4P molecule requires further modifications to be more effective against cancer cells and must be tested on more animals before clinical trials in humans can begin.
