LPCM on ROB TV (local news): KU Leuven is developing a new test to determine the treatment of brain tumours.
Due to the large number of different cell types in brain tumours, which all respond differently to treatment, many patients relapse, and the chance of a full recovery is very small.
A new diagnostic test, developed by KU Leuven, indicates that based on a biopsy, whether a treatment can attack all present tumour cells.
As a result, it is possible to determine in advance which therapy would be more effective for each patient. So that no unnecessary treatments are started. The results of this research appear today in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.
The model was developed for two previously tested treatments and was based on animal models. Before we can use the test in human patients, further clinical studies in the hospital are needed to validate our test. We are currently also expanding our test with 15 other possible therapies, and testing whether this method can also be applied to brain tumours in children. It often takes a long time before new treatments are used in the hospital because, after positive results in the lab, they still have to go through several clinical phases. The advantage of our approach is that we do not develop new treatments but reuse existing ones. Previous clinical research has already shown that these are safe for administration to patients. As soon as our diagnostic test is ready, the therapies can quickly find their way back to the hospital.
Although, due to the cost price and special expertise, it will not be possible to carry out these experiments in every hospital. “What makes our method unique is the fact that it can take into account the heterogeneity of brain tumours. Because not every hospital has the right equipment, we eventually want to work with one central European test hub that can examine the various tumour samples and provide treatment advice to local doctors.” By testing in advance whether patients will benefit from a certain therapy, unnecessary treatments or investigations are not carried out. This saves time, as patients immediately receive the most effective treatment, and also ensures that they do not experience any negative side effects from (expensive) treatments that do not work.