Targeting stromal cells may help overcome treatment resistance in glioblastoma
(PHYSorg.com Medicine & Health)

The deadly brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM) is often resistant to chemotherapy and radiation, but new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Penn`s Abramson Cancer Center shows targeting stromal cells-the cells that serve as the connective tissue of the organs-may be an effective way of overcoming that resistance. Specifically, the researchers found that GBM causes these stromal cells to act like stem cells, naturally resisting attempts to kill them and promoting tumor growth instead. They also identified the pathway that makes this all possible and showed that blocking that pathway makes cancer vulnerable in a lab setting. Science Translational Medicine published the findings today.