Addressing BBB heterogeneity: A new paradigm for drug delivery to brain tumors

Jessica I. Griffith; Sneha Rathi; Wenqiu Zhang; Wenjuan Zhang; Lester R. Drewes; Jann N. Sarkaria; William F. Elmquist

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics12121205

Addressing BBB heterogeneity: A new paradigm for drug delivery to brain tumors

Jessica I. Griffith, Sneha Rathi, Wenqiu Zhang, Wenjuan Zhang, Lester R. Drewes, Jann N. Sarkaria, William F. Elmquist

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Effective treatments for brain tumors remain one of the most urgent and unmet needs in modern oncology. This is due not only to the presence of the neurovascular unit/blood–brain barrier (NVU/BBB) but also to the heterogeneity of barrier alteration in the case of brain tumors, which results in what is referred to as the blood–tumor barrier (BTB). Herein, we discuss this heterogeneity, how it contributes to the failure of novel pharmaceutical treatment strategies, and why a “whole brain” approach to the treatment of brain tumors might be beneficial. We discuss various methods by which these obstacles might be overcome and assess how these strategies are progressing in the clinic. We believe that by approaching brain tumor treatment from this perspective, a new paradigm for drug delivery to brain tumors might be established.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	1205
Pages (from-to)	1-38
Number of pages	38
Journal	Pharmaceutics
Volume	12
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12121205
State	Published - Dec 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

BTB
Blood-brain barrier
Brain metastases
NVU/BBB

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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abstract = "Effective treatments for brain tumors remain one of the most urgent and unmet needs in modern oncology. This is due not only to the presence of the neurovascular unit/blood–brain barrier (NVU/BBB) but also to the heterogeneity of barrier alteration in the case of brain tumors, which results in what is referred to as the blood–tumor barrier (BTB). Herein, we discuss this heterogeneity, how it contributes to the failure of novel pharmaceutical treatment strategies, and why a “whole brain” approach to the treatment of brain tumors might be beneficial. We discuss various methods by which these obstacles might be overcome and assess how these strategies are progressing in the clinic. We believe that by approaching brain tumor treatment from this perspective, a new paradigm for drug delivery to brain tumors might be established.",

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AU - Zhang, Wenjuan

AU - Drewes, Lester R.

AU - Sarkaria, Jann N.

AU - Elmquist, William F.

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Addressing BBB heterogeneity: A new paradigm for drug delivery to brain tumors

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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