Researchers from the University of Plymouth’s
Brain Tumour Research Centre are leading a new study that will explore whether using ultrasound can tackle the most common type of primary brain tumour.
The work, which will initially be in patient samples and animal models, will explore how ultrasound can be combined with small gas-filled bubbles – microbubbles – to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy.
Current treatment options for meningioma mainly involve surgery where possible and, in some cases, radiotherapy. However, many meningioma tumours do not respond well to radiotherapy and increasing the radiation dose can cause devastating impacts to healthy brain tissue.
The new project gets under way this month and will be led by
Dr Juri Na , Senior Research Fellow, and colleagues from the University’s Brain Tumour Research Centre. They will also collaborate with the University’s
Centre for Therapeutic Ultrasound (CENTUS) , and the Department of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford.
It aims to improve radiotherapy for meningioma using gentle sound waves known as low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) combined with microbubbles.
When microbubbles are exposed to ultrasound, they vibrate and create mechanical forces that can temporarily stress tumour cells and blood vessels. The research team hopes that ‘stressing’ the tumour cells in this way will make them more susceptible to the impact of radiotherapy, triggering tumour cell death and reductions in tumour size.
Professor David Parkinson
