UNC Researchers Advance Glioblastoma Treatment with Novel Combination Therapy
A new study from the Sancar Lab and collaborators at UNC-Chapel Hill, published in PNAS, highlights a promising future therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma (GBM), one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant brain cancers.
Researchers found that combining 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) with the standard-of-care drug temozolomide (TMZ) significantly improves antitumor efficacy in preclinical GBM mouse models. This approach not only enhances tumor cell targeting but also delivers strong survival benefits, with long-term survival achieved in a subset of models.
Key insights from the study include:
- DNA repair vulnerabilities as a therapeutic target
- Synergistic effects of EdU and TMZ in GBM models
- Selectivity for tumor cells, sparing normal tissue
- New mechanistic understanding of DNA repair pathways for precision cancer therapy
This collaborative effort at UNC underscores the potential of leveraging DNA repair mechanisms to develop more effective treatments for devastating brain cancers.
Read the full paper in PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2532187123
H. Kaanoglu, Y.K. Akyel, A. Adefolaju, A. Valdivia, D. Higgins, R.S. Sellers, C. Mosely, C.J. Haswell, W.C. Zamboni, S.D. Hingtgen, A.B. Satterlee, & A. Sancar, Combinatorial treatment of glioblastoma with temozolomide (TMZ) plus 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (1) e2532187123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2532187123 (2026).
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