It has been interesting and encouraging to watch the development of new biomarker technologies that bring us closer to solving our dire problems in healthcare today. A particular breakthrough was published this past week in the journal Cancer Research, which reported that researchers at the University of Washington have been able to use fluorescent nanoparticles to target and illuminate brain tumors in mice. The nanoparticles were small enough to pass through the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) without disrupting it. The researchers conjugated these nanoparticles to chlorotoxin, a popular tumor targeting molecule that allowed them to stay at the targeted locations for up to 5 days and generate a significant contrast between normal and tumor tissue under MRI and optical imaging.
Potential for improving targeted therapy
This technology could help doctors “visualize” a clear boundary between normal and tumor tissue in the human brain during surgical removal of tumors. Conventionally, it has been challenging to clearly identify tumor tissue, due to which normal brain tissue is also lost during surgery. If this research moves further successfully, especially by using better contrast agents, it is expected that surgeons would be able to see 10 times better resolution in tumor regions thus enabling them to be more precise in their surgical procedures.
This research points to a new generation of technologies that would not only enable objective detection and diagnosis of neurological diseases, but also improve our capability to treat these diseases. Richard Ellenbogen, who is Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the UW School of Medicine notes: “Precise imaging of brain tumors is phenomenally important … This is the next generation of cancer imaging. The last generation was CT, this generation was MRI, and this is the next generation of advances.”
Characteristics of targeted therapeutics for neurological diseases
Over the past year, we have observed successful research outcomes in the area of biomarkers that enable targeted therapy for neurological diseases. Certain commonalities in all of these research breakthroughs point to specific characteristics that could define this next generation of biomarkers and further enable targeted neurological treatments. Some of these are:
- Physical or chemical properties of the biomarker that enable it to cross the BBB without disrupting it (all currently used methods disrupt the BBB and increase the chances of infection since the BBB is the brain’s only line of defense).
- A targeting mechanism that helps the biomarker to reach and attach itself only to the targeted diseased areas of the brain.
- In case of surgical procedures where conventional imaging techniques are used, the biomarker would provide visual feedback to the surgeon using its fluorescent properties, and
- In case of a drug treatment plan, the biomarker would be able to deliver the drug to the targeted location in the brain.
As the need for effectiveness in healthcare increases, we will be seeing more breakthroughs in biomarker technologies that not only improve diagnostics but also enable therapeutics in treating neurological diseases. The current trends point to a very promising future.
