With survival at barely 5% at five years, glioblastoma remains one of the deadliest brain cancers. The first line treatment consists of surgery to remove as much tumour tissue as possible. A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) has now shown that this operation triggers a tissue-repair process that makes the residual tumour even harder to combat. By administering lab-engineered immune cells — CAR-T cells — to mice before rather than after surgery, the team achieved unprecedented durable tumour control. This research, with significant clinical implications, is published in the journalNature Communications.

Doctors use samples of white blood cells taken in clinical settings in lab tests about immune function and for emerging therapies like CAR T cell for certain cancers. But, current tests are limited in scope and sometimes require the addition of molecular labels that make the samples unsuitable for further use or analysis. Investigators at the Morgridge Institute for Research have developed a method of using optical metabolic imaging to identify immune cells and their metabolic state without destroying the samples. The group is working to commercialize this technology and help clinicians get the most out of these commonly used blood samples.