Treating childhood brainstem cancer using nanotechnology

Dr Van Vuurden talks to ecancertv at Children with Cancer UK’s workshop on Drug Delivery in Paediatric Brain Tumours in London, UK.

In the interview he discusses how nanotechnologies may be used to help deliver therapeutic drugs directly into the brainstem of children suffering from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

Due to its location DIPG is a particularly difficult paediatric tumour to treat and there are few options available.

Several approaches are being investigated that could have a big impact on the disease in the future.

One of these is delivering very small gas microbubbles that vibrate when focal ultrasound is applied to open up the blood-brain barrier enough so that a therapeutic agent could enter the brain.