UNC pharmacy researchers have successfully turned skin cells into cancer-hunting stem cells that destroy brain tumors known as glioblastom.

“Patients desperately need a better standard of care,” said Shawn Hingtgen, who led the study.

The survival rate beyond two years is 30 percent because even when the brain tumor is removed, it is nearly impossible to get all of the cancerous cells, which will grow back.

After turn the skin cells to stem cells, Hingtgen and his team showed that these neural stem cells have an innate ability to move throughout the brain and home in on and kill any remaining cancer cells.

Depending on the type of tumor, the mice tested had an increased survival time anywhere from 160 to 200 percent.

Hingtgen’s work built upon research that won the Nobel Prize in 2007 and 2012

“We wanted to find out if these induced neural stem cells would home in on cancer cells and whether they could be used to deliver a therapeutic agent,” he said. “This is the first time this direct reprogramming technology has been used to treat cancer.”

The next step is to try to develop human stem cells and testing more effective anti-cancer drugs that can be loaded into the tumor-seeking neural stem cells.

Related Stories
‹
UNC Researchers Warn About Effects of Federal Funding Cuts on Cancer Discoveries, Treatments
Threats of federal funding cuts are already felt within research circles at UNC, including the labs of some leading cancer research.
Art’s Angle: Perspective
Mack Brown was crying after the 41-34 shocker to Georgia Tech — but he was weeping about losing one of his former players and team leaders.
Top Stories of 2023: Eric Montross' Cancer Fight Galvanizes the Community
To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2023. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region. UNC men’s basketball alumnus Eric Montross was notable around the Chapel Hill community not just for his stature – […]
UNC Cancer Hospital Renamed to Honor State Leader
Marc Basnight was North Carolina’s longest-serving legislative leader. After his death, state legislatures wanted to find a way to honor him.
UNC Studying Link Between Obesity and Cancer
Researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center are looking into the links between obesity and cancer. While it is common knowledge that things like smoking and exposure to sun can put you at risk for cancer, Professor in the Department of Nutrition at UNC Dr. Stephen Hursting says obesity is a lesser known risk […]
UNC Lineberger Director Chosen to Lead National Cancer Institute
Ned Sharpless has led the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center since 2014. Now, President Donald Trump has announced his intention to appoint the Greensboro native as director of the National Cancer Institute. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health and Douglas Lowry has been working as acting director since 2015. Sharpless was […]
UNC Hosting Annual Cancer Survivors Day Event
Cancer affects millions of people every day across the country. That includes those directly impacted who are battling different forms of cancer and family members and care givers who are helping a patient. And now more efforts are being focused on those who have survived cancer. UNC is holding an event on Saturday in coordination […]
Faces of Fearless: Sylvia Hatchell
A career clocking in excess of 1,000 wins, Olympic gold and over three decades at the helm of Tar Heel women’s basketball. Syliva Hatchell is a living legend, a fearless leader and an all-around remarkable woman “Basketball has been my life. Along with my family and my faith, coaching is what I do,” said Hatchell, […]
Local Researchers Develop New Cancer-Fighting Technique
A team of biomedical engineers working within a joint department of North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had their research published two weeks ago. According to Dr. Zhen Gu, the team’s senior author, the research focuses on using blood platelets to minimize the spread of cancer cells after […]
UNC Researchers Develop New Cancer Drug Delivery Method
UNC researchers have found a way to kill drug resistant lung cancer using 50 times less chemotherapy. For the first time, researchers have developed a way to package cancer drugs inside naturally occurring particles found in white blood cells, allowing them to freely pass through membranes that would otherwise resist the drug. Dr. Elena Batrakova […]
›