Study: Traditional Chinese Medicine Offers New Approaches for Glioblastoma Treatment

Magnetic resonance image of a glioblastoma. （ShutterStock）

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a rapidly spreading and aggressive brain tumor. Current treatment for this cancer is limited, however, a recent animal study has shown that a drug made from the natural compound indirubin—derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)—can improve the survival rate of mice with the disease, thus offering a potential new avenue for its treatment in humans.

GBM is the most prevalent and aggressive form of brain cancer, most commonly occurring in those over 64 years of age. Symptoms of GBM encompass gradually intensifying headaches, bouts of nausea and vomiting, impaired or dual vision, and episodes of seizures.

Due to its high incidence, fatality rate, and recurrence rate, treating this disease has posed significant challenges. Currently, the established treatments for glioblastoma encompass chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. However, these interventions primarily contribute to symptom alleviation rather than achieving a complete cure or halting the advancement of the cancer.

Hope Lies in Chinese Herb Extraction

Indirubin, a component extracted from the traditional Chinese herb Indigofera tinctoria L, is included in the Chinese medicine formula “Dang Gui Long Hui Wan,” for treating chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Research conducted through in vitro experiments and animal studies involving indirubin and its derivatives has unveiled potential benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and neuroprotective effects. However, the clinical development of these compounds has been hindered by their poor solubility, which limits their bioavailability, efficacy, and delivery.

According to the study published in Cell Reports Medicine, researchers from Harvard Medical School and Brown University used an improved formulation of indirubin—a derivative called 6′-bromoindirubin-3′-acetoxime (BiA)—to create synthetic nanoparticles known as PPRX-1701, which can be administered through intravenous injection.

The study found that BiA slowed the growth and proliferation of tumor cells in mice and improved their survival rates by impacting important immunotherapeutic targets.

“The interesting thing about this drug is that it targets several important hallmarks of the disease,” said Sean Lawler, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Brown University, “That’s appealing because this type of cancer keeps finding ways around individual mechanisms of attack. So if we use multiple mechanisms of attack at once, perhaps that will be more successful.”

In addition to the aforementioned study, a report published in AMB Express in 2020 investigated the anticancer effects of indirubin on a group of human glioma cells. Glioma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. Affecting both adults and children, glioma represents approximately 33 percent of all brain tumors. The most malignant form is glioblastoma multiforme.

This study revealed for the first time that indirubin inhibited the growth of glioma cells by inducing apoptosis and autophagy. Additionally, it was found to inhibit the migration of glioma cells. The results demonstrated the potent anticancer effects of indirubin on glioma cells and suggested its potential indispensability in the treatment of glioblastoma.

Furthermore, a study published in BioScience Trends in 2020 provided a systematic review of experimental research on traditional Chinese medicine treatments for glioblastoma from both the perspectives of strengthening vital qi and eliminating pathogenic qi.

Strengthening Vital Qi

Strengthening vital qi and eliminating pathogenic qi are the general guiding principles in TCM for treating diseases. Strengthening vital qi means enhancing the body’s overall functional capacity and ability to maintain health. Eliminating pathogenic qi refers to the pathogenic qi that induces various disease-causing factors.

The study found that Chinese herbs which strengthen vital qi, such as ginseng root, licorice root, goji berry, and angelica root, and those which eliminate pathogenic qi, such as salvia root, baical skullcap root, coptis rhizome, three-wing-nut, and sophora root, share similar active ingredients that can act on different signaling pathways to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. This multi-target, multi-level approach may bring hope for treating glioblastoma.