• glioblastoma multiforme
• gbm
• tumor progression
• preclinical models
• cancer therapy
• new therapeutic approach
• two-photon microscopy

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent kind of malignant glioma and the most prevalent primary brain tumor with the highest severity and the most inauspicious prognosis. Current available treatment option consists of patients undergoing surgery to remove the major part of the tumour mass followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. With these standard treatment strategies patients have a median life expectancy of only 14 months. The presence of the blood-brain barrier and the invasive nature of this tumor is what make GBM challenging to treat.
In our lab, we explored the effects of a patented combination drugs developed in the lab of Vincent Torre at SISSA, Trieste on a fluorescent GL261 murine cell line expressing mDsRed2, model for GBM. The outcome of the drug treatment on in vitro cell viability, proliferation and migration assays was that it impaired rapid multiplication and slowed down the migration of GL261 cells. Then, we explored the effects of our drug cocktail in vivo in our preclinical model of GBM (mouse). We observed a reduction in tumor volume after a one-week treatment, as well as changes in in vivo cellular morphology in treated animals respect to control ones. Then, in vivo electrophysiology was performed, the cortical activity, in terms of slow wave activity doesn’t show any significant alteration after treatment. Based on our observation, we can positively conclude that this drug combination could represent a new possible treatment strategy.