Researchers have developed a mouse model of brain-metastatic breast cancer and found the potential of stem-cell-based therapy to eliminate metastatic cells from the brain and prolong survival is strong.
The research team developed a mouse model that closely mimics what is seen in patients. They found that injecting into the carotid artery breast cancer cells that express markers allowing them to enter the brain – cells labeled with bioluminescent and fluorescent markers to enable tracking by imaging technologies – resulted in the formation of many metastatic tumors throughout the brain, mimicking what is seen in advanced breast cancer patients. Current therapeutic options for such patients are limited, particularly when there are many metastases.
The safe use of a stem-cell-based therapy against brain metastasis would require preventing the engineered cells from persisting within the brain, where they could affect normal tissue and possibly give rise to new tumors. To facilitate removal of the therapeutic stem cells from the brain at the conclusion of therapy, the researchers created cells that, in addition to TRAIL, express a viral gene called HSV-TK, which renders them susceptible to the effects of the antiviral drug ganciclovir.
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