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Time of Day May Affect Chemo Potency
Maybe getting chemo at night is better?
Article via LabRoots
Brain tumors are associated with low survival rates for a number of reasons. For one, malignant brain tumors often harbor a kaleidoscope of different cancer cells, each with its own signature mutations. Drugs that target one group of cells can leave others completely unscathed. Surgical approaches to remove tumors are equally challenging — tumors often grow a network of root-like projections into healthy tissues, making it difficult to remove them altogether.
Another major hurdle is the brain’s gatekeeper, the blood-brain barrier. This network of fine blood vessels waves necessary nutrients through but blocks potentially harmful molecules (which include chemotherapies) from getting to the brain. With brain tumors walled off behind the blood-brain barrier, many potentially effective treatments simply can’t get to them.
West Virginia University researchers have been chasing a hypothesis about the blood-brain barrier — that it’s more dynamic than previously thought. Scientists led by William Walker discovered that their hunch turned out to be true. The permeability of the blood-brain barrier rises and dips over the course of the day, a characteristic that could be leveraged to boost the effectiveness of brain tumor therapeutics.
