Researchers within the CBTRC are investigating a number of molecular research avenues that could lead to new targets for brain tumour treatments. They are also working to optimise drug delivery to tumour sites within the brain, bypassing the body’s protective membrane – the blood brain barrier. CBTRC researchers are also involved in national and international clinical trials programmes that are testing new and modified treatment approaches.
Dr Stuart Smith is a Co-investigator in the Tessa Jowell BRAIN-MATRIX trial led by Professor Colin Watts (University of Birmingham). This trial is a first-of-its-kind multi-centre adaptive platform study, aiming to deliver molecularly stratified medicine to brain cancer patients.
Children with Cancer UK fund a specific DIPG drug delivery project, led by Dr Beth Coyle and Dr Vahid Heravi Shargh. This is a collaborative project with researchers at Bristol, aimed at delivering a new temozolomide analogue (developed here in Nottingham) directly into DIPG tumours using specially designed catheters. During this year, three methods have been tested in the laboratory, and they will identify the most effective one go onto being tested in an animal model.
In 2019, Children with Cancer UK also renewed its three year grant for the Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium (CBTDCC), which is led Professor David Walker and Dr Ruman Rahman. For details of their please, see the Consortium website which includes newsletters and reports on their work.
Who to contact
Ruman Rahman
Selected publications
Smith SJ, Rowlinson J, Estevez-Cebrero M, Onion D, Ritchie A, Wood K, Diksin M, Lourdusamy A, Grundy RG, Rahman R. 5ALA positive fluorescence-activated cell sorted cells in the invasive region of glioblastoma have a unique gene signature and tumourigenic potential. Nature Communications (under review).
Rahman R, Janowski M, Walczak P, Walker D. On behalf of Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium. Predictive potential of pre-clinical models for drug delivery to the brain. In preparation for Neuro-Oncology.
BNOS 2017 Meeting June 21-23, 2017 John McIntyre Conference Centre, Edinburgh SMITH S., GOULD, T., TYLER, B., RITCHIE, A., VEAL, G., SHAKESHEFF, K., BREM, H., GRUNDY, R., RAHMAN, R., (2018) Overall survival in an orthotopic GBM model is significantly prolonged by neurosurgical delivery of PLGA/PEG interstitial chemotherapy. Neuro-Oncology, Volume 20, Issue suppl_1, 31 January 2018, Pages i6,
IVANOV, D.P., PARKER, T.L., WALKER, D.A., (et al), (2015) In vitro co-culture model of medulloblastoma and human neural stem cells for drug delivery assessment (2015) Journal of Biotechnology
RAHMAN, R., (2014) Biomaterial-based local drug delivery to brain tumors. Therapeutic Delivery (IF 1.4) 5(12): 1243-1245