Glioblastoma multiforme treatment with natural compounds
June 27 2018

The most common form of brain cancer in adults is glioblastoma multiforme, probably is a set of diseases, rather than a single disease. Dr. Neil Hayes of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  says each subtype of glioblastoma multiforme may begin from different types of cells, meaning each needs a different treatment approach. Dr. Neil Hayes says the findings will not affect how doctors currently treat brain tumors. Glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, spreads quickly to other parts of the brain, making it difficult to treat. Most people with GBM die within about 14 months of diagnosis. In recent years, three of every 100,000 Americans have been diagnosed with GBM.

J Clin Oncol. 2014. Glioblastoma Multiforme Metastasis Outside the CNS: Three Case Reports and Possible Mechanisms of Escape.

The risk for developing a form of brain cancer known as glioma appears to go up with long-term use of hormonal contraceptives such as the Pill,  Oct. 26, 2014, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, online.

Treatment, radiation, chemotherapy
Glioblastoma is the most malignant and frequent primary brain tumor. The current standard of care consists of maximum safe resection and radiotherapy with concomitant and subsequent temozolomide (TMZ) treatment. With this treatment plan, the prognosis of patients with GBM remains dismal, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%.

Radiation and chemotherapy can cause structural changes in the healthy brain tissue of patients with glioblastoma brain tumors. There is significant decrease in whole brain volume -- the overall amount of brain tissue -- throughout chemoradiation. The reduced amount of brain tissue becomes apparent within a few weeks after the start of chemoradiation and is primarily seen in gray matter.

Natural treatment
There is very little human research with natural treatments.

Ashwagandha extracts
J Neurooncol. 2016. Withaferin A and its potential role in glioblastoma (GBM). Within the Ayurvedic medical tradition of India, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is a well-known herb. A large number of withanolides have been isolated from both its roots and its leaves and many have been assessed for their pharmacological activities. Amongst them, Withaferin A is one of its most bioactive phytoconstituents. Due to the lactonal steroid's potential to modulate multiple oncogenic pathways, Withaferin A has gained much attention as a possible anti-neoplastic agent. This review focuses on the use of Withaferin A alone, or in combination with other treatments, as a newer option for therapy against the most aggressive variant of brain tumors, Glioblastoma. We survey the various studies that delineate Withaferin A's anticancer mechanisms, its toxicity profiles, its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics and its immuno-modulating properties.

Berberine
Biol Pharm Bull. 2008. Berberine induces G1 arrest and apoptosis in human glioblastoma T98G cells through mitochondrial/caspases pathway.

Caesalpinia sappan
Molecules. 2013. Brazilin inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in human glioblastoma cells. Brazilin, isolated from the methanol extract of the heart wood of Caesalpinia sappan, sensitizes cancer cells to apoptosis.

Curcumin and turmeric
Eur J Med Chem. 2016. Prospective of curcumin, a pleiotropic signalling molecule from Curcuma longa in the treatment of Glioblastoma. Dietary polyphenol curcumin, isolated from the rhizome of the Curcuma longa (turmeric), has emerged as remarkable anti-cancer agent in the treatment of various peripheral cancers such as blood, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, melanoma as well as skin, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian, bladder, liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreatic and colorectal epithelial cancers with a pleiotropic mode of action and also showed promise in alleviation of GBM.

Garlic
Mol Cells. 2014. Systemic approaches identify a garlic-derived chemical, Z-ajoene, as a glioblastoma multiforme cancer stem cell-specific targeting agent. Our biological and bioinformatic analyses collectively demonstrate that Z-ajoene is a potential candidate for the treatment of GBM by specifically targeting GBM cancer stem cells.

Olive leaf extract
Biomed Pharmacother. 2017. Olive leaf extract and bevacizumab synergistically exhibit beneficial efficacy upon human glioblastoma cancer stem cells through reducing angiogenesis and invasion in vitro.

Tinospora cordifolia
PLoS One. 2013. Aqueous ethanolic extract of Tinospora cordifolia as a potential candidate for differentiation based therapy of glioblastomas.  Tinospora cordifolia, also named as 'heavenly elixir' is used in various Ayurvedic decoctions as panacea to treat several body ailments. The current study investigated the anti-brain cancer potential of 50% ethanolic extract of Tinospora cordifolia using C6 glioma cells. TCE significantly reduced cell proliferation in dose-dependent manner and induced differentiation in C6 glioma cells.

Tripterygium wilfordii
J Int Med Res. 2007. Inhibitory effect of triptolide on glioblastoma multiforme in vitro. This study investigated the effect of triptolide, derived from the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii, on the growth of glioblastoma multiforme cells.

Correspondence
I enjoy learning from your web site. Thank you for all the great information! Can you tell me if fucoidan is being takes for glioblastoma multiforme?
   A. I am not aware of such studies as of 2018.