Using daily body rhythms to improve glioblastoma treatment
Circadian interventions against glioblastoma
This project explores whether giving chemotherapy at specific times of day tied to the body's daily rhythms can help people with glioblastoma respond better to treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11247505 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, the team is studying how daily brain activity rhythms affect glioblastoma growth and treatment response. In the lab they use mice implanted with human or mouse glioblastoma cells that have been engineered to report their internal clock, and they can control the animals' daily neuronal activity, hormones, and sleep-wake patterns. They will test whether timing temozolomide and other treatments to these rhythms, or targeting clock-related pathways, slows tumor progression. The researchers will also look for sex differences in how circadian timing affects tumor growth and treatment benefit.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with glioblastoma, particularly those treated with temozolomide, would be the most likely candidates for any future clinical trials based on this work.
Not a fit: Patients with other types of brain tumors or tumors that do not respond to circadian-based approaches may not benefit from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to scheduling chemotherapy at times of day that make treatment more effective for glioblastoma patients.
How similar studies have performed: Chronotherapy has shown benefits in cancers like colorectal cancer and leukemia, and early laboratory data suggest temozolomide’s effectiveness varies by time of day, but clinical tests in brain tumors are still novel.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Herzog, Erik — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Herzog, Erik
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.