Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and POSTECH Begin Development of Nasally Administered Brain Tumor Treatment

Anticancer Nanoparticles Delivered Nasally and Guided to Tumor Sites by Magnetic Field
Improved Drug Delivery Efficiency by Bypassing the Blood-Brain Barrier

A new drug delivery technology that guides anticancer agents administered through the nose to brain tumor sites using a magnetic field has been shown in animal experiments to extend survival times by up to 2.7 times.

Researchers developing a 'brain tumor treatment' administered through the nose. From left: Seungho Yang, Professor at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital; Sungmin Park, Professor in the Department of IT Convergence Engineering at POSTECH; Wonjong Kim, Professor in the Department of Chemistry. Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

On June 11, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital announced that a joint research team led by Professor Seungho Yang of the Department of Neurosurgery at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Professor Sungmin Park of the Department of IT Convergence Engineering at POSTECH, and Professor Wonjong Kim of the Department of Chemistry, developed a therapeutic strategy that delivers anticancer nanoparticles administered nasally to brain tumor sites using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Glioblastoma is the most common form of primary malignant brain tumor in adults and remains an intractable disease, with a median survival of only about 15 months even with standard treatment. The conventional drug temozolomide is limited in its ability to reach tumor sites due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and is associated with systemic side effects.

The research team created a complex by combining temozolomide with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION). This complex was delivered through the nose and guided to the tumor site using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The strategy leverages the olfactory nerve pathway connecting the nose and brain to bypass the blood-brain barrier.

In cell experiments, the complex demonstrated tumor cell-killing effects comparable to those of existing drugs. Electron microscopy analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles distributed even within the nuclei of tumor cells.

In animal experiments using a glioblastoma mouse model, the median survival was 27 days for the control group, 51 days for the group given only the complex, and 72 days for the group treated with the complex plus transcranial magnetic stimulation. The group receiving magnetic stimulation in combination showed a survival extension of about 2.7 times compared to the control group, and about 1.9 times compared to the complex-only group.

Notably, the drug dosage used in the group given transcranial magnetic stimulation was only about 5.6% of the conventional oral dosage, yet the drug concentration in brain tissue was significantly increased. The research team explained that liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) confirmed that magnetic stimulation improved both the delivery and retention of the drug within the brain.

Professor Seungho Yang stated, "The combination of nasal administration and transcranial magnetic stimulation has shown the potential to effectively bypass the blood-brain barrier and reduce the systemic side effects of conventional anticancer therapies," adding, "We plan to conduct further research to advance this as a long-term management strategy for glioblastoma." The research results were published in the international journal 'Drug Delivery and Translational Research.'

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