Abnormal Mechanics in Brain Tumors: Implications for Immunotherapy - Dr. Meenal Datta

April 2023 Seminar on Physical Genomics: Patients suffering from glioblastoma - the deadliest primary brain tumor in adults - have a dismal survival of less than 2 years despite aggressive available treatments. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of other solid tumors but fails to benefit the majority of glioblastoma patients. The tumor microenvironment may be largely responsible for this poor response, as it harbors mechanopathologies that drive disease progression and treatment resistance. One such feature is “solid stress” - a mechanical force originating from cells and extracellular matrix - that can compress blood vessels, induce hypoxia and immunosuppression, and hinder immunotherapy delivery and efficacy. Confined and compounded within the rigid skull, solid stress from brain tumors like glioblastoma can also cause debilitating neurological dysfunction. Dr. Datta will present findings from patients and mouse models of glioblastoma that show how solid stress: i) can be measured and/or applied in vivo, ii) can damage the healthy brain tissue surrounding the tumor, and iii) can be targeted to restore neurological function and overcome resistance to immunotherapy.
Sponsored by the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center