Glioma: the human killer. These difficult brain tumors are the fear of surgeons who wish to remove them from delicate locations lurking within the brain. Researchers have now found a way to catch GBM tumor cells before moving to other parts of the brain, in hopes of limiting the probability of the tumor from growing, spreading, and eventually killing the patient. "We have designed a polymer thin film nanofiber that mimics the structure of nerves and blood vessels that brain tumor cells normally use to invade other parts of the brain," explained Ravi Bellamkonda, lead investigator and chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. "The cancer cells normally latch onto these natural structures and ride them like a monorail to other parts of the brain. By providing an attractive alternative fiber, we can efficiently move the tumors along a different path to a destination that we choose."
RSS Feed