Local and sustained delivery of adjuvants to transform immunotherapies for brain cancers

Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer with very poor survival rates, even after surgery and chemotherapy. Immunotherapy, a treatment that turns the immune system against cancers, has shown success in other cancers but not for glioblastoma so far. This is because this tumour creates an environment in the brain that drastically undermines the immune system's ability to fight it.

This project aims to improve immunotherapy for brain cancer by developing a tiny implant that can be placed in the brain after surgery. This implant slowly releases immune-boosting drugs directly into the area where the tumour was removed. By doing this, we can help immune cells in the brain become more active against any remaining cancer cells, without being blocked by the natural barrier that usually protects the brain from such drugs.

The research will test how this new device affects immune cells taken from brain cancer patients, to see if it makes them better at fighting cancer. If successful, this approach could help prevent the cancer from returning and significantly improve patient outcomes. This work brings us closer to making brain tumours more treatable using the body’s own defences.