Anatomy Teacher, Mrs. Lowman at Clear Springs, sent an email to her students with an article about a group of scientists finding a method to get rid of a glioblastoma.  

According to the article Lowman sent out on October 4th, a study at Tel Aviv University found a method to cure glioblastoma. Glioblastomas attack the Glial cells in our nervous systems, which provide support to the nerve cells, maintain homeostasis, and work to care for the neurons and environment they’re in. It wasn’t until scientists began working with animal models to eliminate the surrounding layer of the tumor, astrocytes, when the research revealed that a tumor with them present killed a group of animals within 4-5 weeks. A scientific method was made to completely remove the astrocytes which would soon lead to the tumor disappearing within a few days. Most infected animals were treated and survived. 

Shortly after, scientists began to force the astrocytes to stop making a protein that would ‘feed’ the tumor. Once the cyte has stopped producing proteins to the tumor, it will begin to ‘starve’ until it completely disappears. The results have proven to be positively dramatic according to research in animals and examples of glioblastomas from humans. 

Although these methods have been successful in animals, there hasn’t been any studies about this method being successful in humans. According to Dr. Mayo, scientists are trying to do everything they can to apply their method to humans. 

For extra commentary, Lowman added that she thinks if researchers were to replicate these successful results there could essentially be a cure for brain cancer. She even went on to say that with this study it will alter the way scientists view cancer treatment and rather than focusing on the tumor itself, they focus on the cells around it.