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Could an antidepressant become a powerful weapon against one of the most aggressive brain cancers? The results of a new study on glioblastoma are raising great hopes. This incurable disease, responsible for thousands of deaths each year, could soon be treated more effectively thanks to a drug commonly prescribed for depression.
Swiss researchers have just discovered that a widely prescribed antidepressant could slow the progression of glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive brain cancers. A breakthrough that raises great hopes.
Antidepressant becomes new hope against glioblastoma
Researchers at the University Hospital Zurich have discovered that vortioxetine, an antidepressant already used to treat depression and anxiety disorders, has unsuspected potential in the fight against glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. The study, published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicinereveals that this drug, administered to mouse models, not only slowed the growth of tumors, but also increased the sensitivity of cancer cells to other treatments.
Glioblastoma is an extremely aggressive brain cancer known for its resistance to traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
It is estimated that approximately 3,500 new cases of glioblastoma are diagnosed in France each year, with a median survival of just over one year after diagnosis. The need for new therapeutic approaches is therefore urgent.
Using a pharmacoscopy platform, ETH Zurich researchers can simultaneously test hundreds of active substances on living cells from human cancer tissue. The study focused on neuroactive substances that cross the blood-brain barrier, such as antidepressants, Parkinson’s drugs and antipsychotics. In total, the research team tested up to 130 different substances on tumor tissue from 40 patients.
The results showed that some, but not all, of the antidepressants tested were surprisingly effective against tumor cells. These drugs worked particularly well when they rapidly triggered a signaling cascade that is important for neuronal progenitor cells but also slows cell division. Vortioxetine was the most effective antidepressant in in vitro cell cultures but also in animal models of glioblastoma, especially in combination with current standard treatment.
Promising results awaiting human validation
Although the results of this study are impressive, it is important to note that these early trials were conducted in animal models. Clinical trials in human patients are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of vortioxetine in the treatment of glioblastoma.
This is why the research group from ETH Zurich and USZ is currently preparing two clinical trials. In one, patients with glioblastoma will be treated with vortioxetine in addition to standard treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy). In the other, patients will receive a personalized selection of drugs, which the researchers will determine for each individual using the pharmacoscopy platform.
No wild self-medication according to the head of the study
If these results are confirmed in humans, this discovery could offer a more accessible therapeutic solution. Vortioxetine is already approved and used to treat depression in many countries, which could accelerate its use in the treatment of glioblastoma. Compared to other anticancer therapies currently in development, vortioxetine also has the advantage of being well tolerated and having limited side effects, which could improve the quality of life of patients with this type of cancer.
However, be careful not to give in to wild self-medication, Michael Weller, professor at the University Hospital of Zurich, and co-author of the study warns patients and their relatives against obtaining vortioxetine themselves and taking it without medical supervision.We do not yet know whether the drug works in humans or at what dose it is necessary to fight the tumor. That is why clinical trials are necessary. Self-medication would represent an incalculable risk“.
Once again, medical research shows that solutions to the most complex diseases can sometimes be found in already existing treatments, but used in an innovative way. If at the end of clinical trials, vortioxetine proves effective, it will be the first time in decades that an active ingredient has been discovered to improve the treatment of glioblastoma.