MRI-Guided Ultrasound Method Advances Targeted Treatment of Gliomas

Drug delivery is hampered by the brain’s blood-brain barrier, limiting treatment efficacy and outcomes. The clinical toll is substantial, with more than 10,000 deaths from glioblastoma each year in the United States. To help address this challenge, researchers have developed a focused sound-wave strategy to improve targeted therapy delivery to gliomas.

At UVA Health’s Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, investigators are using microbubbles activated by focused ultrasound to transiently open the blood-brain barrier (BBB) at the tumor site, allowing drugs to reach the target region without surgery. A complementary MRI method developed by the team measures drug delivery with high spatial resolution and had not previously been integrated with focused ultrasound. Early findings indicate that gliomas may be more receptive to targeted delivery than normal brain tissue.

In preclinical studies in laboratory mice, the approach showed that glioma tissue can be vulnerable to ultrasound-enabled transport. The work also identified a “Goldilocks” molecular size range for therapeutics. Very small molecules were delivered less efficiently than larger ones, while very large molecules were less effective than medium-sized agents.

UVA is expanding this program with a new MRI-guided focused ultrasound system for brain drug delivery from Insightec. The platform pairs focused ultrasound with an advanced MRI unit that provides detailed views inside the brain, enabling researchers to deliver therapy and monitor its effects with precision. The initiative builds on the launch of the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center in 2022 and is supported by UVA Cancer Center and the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology.

The findings have been published in Radiology and are expected to inform optimization of ultrasound-mediated delivery for brain tumors. While additional research is needed, these results support continued development of image-guided ultrasound strategies for investigational drug and gene therapies targeting gliomas.

“This new MRI-guided focused ultrasound system gives our researchers the ability to both deliver treatment and monitor its effects with exceptional precision. That combination will accelerate our understanding of how to optimize drug delivery for brain tumors and help move promising therapies closer to clinical care,” said James Stone, MD, PhD, of UVA Health.

“I am hopeful this research illustrates how advanced MR imaging methods can be used to improve focused ultrasound delivery treatments in the clinic. In particular, it’s exciting to think about how these technologies could be combined with future gene therapies, from Manning Institute investigators and companies, aimed at treating brain tumors,” said Richard J. Price, PhD, co-director of the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center.

Related Links
UVA Health’s Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center