Reducing tumor pressure to help overcome glioblastoma treatment resistance
Targeting physical stress-driven mechanisms to overcome glioblastoma treatment resistance
This project looks at how the physical squeezing inside the skull makes glioblastoma harder to treat and seeks ways to make therapies work better for people with GBM.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11178514 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's view, researchers believe the mechanical forces created as a brain tumor grows change tumor cells and weaken immune responses. They will study how these forces drive stemlike tumor behavior and immune-suppressing signals, focusing on stress-related proteins such as G3BP2. The team will block those pathways in immune-competent mouse models of glioblastoma and combine that with immunotherapy to see if tumor killing improves. The aim is to find targets that could be translated into future treatments to boost anti-tumor immunity in GBM.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The most relevant patients would be people with a diagnosis of glioblastoma, especially those whose tumors are resistant to standard treatments and who may be candidates for future immunotherapy trials.
Not a fit: Patients without glioblastoma or whose tumors do not show the stress-related pathways studied are unlikely to directly benefit from this work in the near term.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal new targets or strategies to make immunotherapy and other treatments more effective against glioblastoma.
How similar studies have performed: Previous laboratory studies show mechanical forces can change tumor cell behavior and G3BP2 has been linked to cancer stemness, but applying mechanobiology-targeting to improve GBM immunotherapy is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Munn, Lance L. — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Munn, Lance L.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.