Background: Glioblastoma is the most lethal primary brain malignancy in adults. Standard of care treatment, consisting of temozolomide (TMZ) and adjuvant radiotherapy (RT), mostly does not prevent local recurrence. The inability of drugs to enter the brain, in particular antibody-based drugs and radiosensitizers, is a crucial limitation to effective glioblastoma therapy.
Methods: Here, we developed a combined strategy using radiosensitizer gold nanoparticles coated with insulin to cross the blood-brain barrier and shuttle tumor-targeting antibodies (cetuximab) into the brain.
Results: Following intravenous injection to an orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model, the nanoparticles specifically accumulated within the tumor. Combining targeted nanoparticle injection with TMZ and RT standard of care significantly inhibited tumor growth and extended survival, as compared to standard of care alone. Histological analysis of tumors showed that the combined treatment eradicated tumor cells, and decreased tumor vascularization, proliferation, and repair.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate radiosensitizer nanoparticles that effectively deliver antibodies into the brain, target the tumor, and effectively improve standard of care treatment outcome in glioblastoma.
Keywords: blood-brain barrier; cetuximab; glioblastoma; gold nanoparticles; radiotherapy.