近年、ゲノム情報に基づいた治療や免疫療法、標的療法などに代表される「臨床腫瘍学」の発展によって、特定の種類のがんは治療できるようになってきました。しかし、脳腫瘍のひとつである「Glioblastoma Multiforme(GBM)」は、3年以上生きられる人が5%以下と、最も致死的ながんであると言えます。現在GBMの治療は、外科治療か放射線治療による対応が行われていますが、これでは14〜16ヶ月の延命しか期待できず、さらには副作用も発生してしまいます。
In recent years, there have been amazing improvements in cancer management. Treatment approaches based on patient’s genomic profile, immunotherapies, and targeted therapies are noteworthy advances in clinical oncology. Some of these treatment options are already showing tremendous benefits against certain types of cancers and thus improving the lives of cancer patients. Some types of cancer are now curable.
However, Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), one of the most deadly forms of human cancer, still remains incurable with less than 5% of GBM patients surviving longer than 3 years. The current standard treatment of GBM consists surgery and radiotherapy, followed by chemotherapy with temozolomide. However, this current standard of care only extends overall survival to about 14 to 16 months. Besides, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy causes severe toxicity that imposes negative effect on the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, GBM represents a major unmet medical challenge for the development of a novel therapeutic strategy that would prolong survival and ensure better quality of life for the Glioblastoma patient’s.
なぜ、GBMの治療は難しいのでしょうか。その主な理由は、1. 外科手術では腫瘍を完全に取り除くことがほとんど不可能であること、2. 薬剤を投与しようとしても、薬の通過を妨げるバリアー「blood-brain barrier(BBB)」によって、薬剤が腫瘍に届かないことが挙げられます。一部の薬剤は通過できることが知られているのですが、抗体ができてしまうため効果が得られにくいなど、未だ課題を抱えています。
There are 2 major reasons why GBM is so hard to treat. No 1 reason is that surgical removal of the entire GBM tumor is almost impossible. This is because; GBM, which is an extremely aggressive malignant tumor that generates in the brain, grows very fast and rapidly spreads into the surrounding brain tissues, making surgical removal of whole tumor impossible. Some cancerous cells are unavoidably left and can regrow in the initial tumor site or in other areas of the brain.
Another reason why it is so difficult to treat GBM is that, many drugs cannot efficiently enter the brain to reach the tumor site. GMB tumors locate inside the brain, a region that is outside the reach of local control. There is a unique barrier, termed the “blood-brain barrier (BBB)” that limits the passage of molecules, like many chemo drugs, from the bloodstream into the brain. Only few drugs can pass through BBB; temozolomide is one of these drugs, however, roughly all GBMs are naturally resistant to temozolomide or acquire resistance during treatment, which makes temozolimide treatment ineffective for GBM.
そんななか、私たちはBBBを通過するナノマシンを開発しました。これを利用すれば、確実にGBMに薬剤が与え、腫瘍を倒せる可能性があります。実際に、実験室の環境ではGBMの細胞を効果的に殺すことができました。しかし、実際の治療ではうまくいっていない状況です。GBMサイト内の輸送を改善するためにナノマシンにBBBの標的リガンドを搭載したところ、マウスのGBMでは改善される結果が得られました。
However, we have already developed nanomachines decorated with BBB targeting ligands that can effectively pass this barrier and reach the GBM site. Nanomachine/nanomedicine has already been appreciated as a translational technology for efficient delivery of the anticancer drug to the tumor site, minimizing toxicity and thus offering better quality of life for the patient. Although this drug can kill GBM cells effectively when the cells are grown in laboratory condition, it poorly penetrates through BBB rendering it ineffective for GBM therapy. In order to improve delivery in GBM site, we have decorated our nanomachine loaded by BBB targeting ligands and confirmed its superior activity against mouse GBM model.
We would like to use this nanomachine technology to deliver other effective anti-glioblastoma drugs to GBM site and kill every single cancer cells to achieve complete cure of this deadly disease. We are committed to rapidly translate our nanomachine technology to clinic for GBM therapy.
そこで今回、皆さんのご支援をいただくことで、GBMを倒すための仕組みを完成させたいと思い、クラウドファンディングに挑戦することにしました。私たちの研究のゴールである「Conquer glioblastoma with NanoMachine(GMBをナノマシンで打ち倒す!)」という目標に、一緒に進んでいきませんか?ご支援のほど、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
We would like to include general people in this collective effort. We would like to directly get connected with people, so that they can have better understanding of the importance and impact of our research for the society. We would like to have a supporter group who would support our innovation, inspire us to achieve our goal. Here is our goal, “Conquer glioblastoma with NanoMachine”.
This is our long-term goal that would perhaps take several years to achieve significant progress. However, we have set, few short-term goals towards reaching our final goal. The first short-term goal is to confirm the survival benefit of antiglioblastoma loaded nanomachine in GBM bearing animal models. Additionally, we would like to invite four GBM speacialist in our brain tumor research forum within the next one year time period.
Date | Plans |
---|---|
2018年06月 | クラウドファンディング挑戦 |
2018年07月 | 実験開始 |
2018年09月 |
学会参加
|
2018年10月〜2019年1月 | 実験結果の整理(Finalizing the experimental results) |
2019年2月〜2019年5月 | 論文執筆(Writing Paper) |
皆さんのご支援で得られた研究成果をレポートにまとめてお送りいたします。
We will send the research results gained by your support in a report in English.
研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
24 supporters are supporting with this reward. (No quantity limit)
クラウドファンディングのサポーターとして、私たちの研究室の公式Webサイトにお名前を掲載させていただきます。簡単に研究成果が出るわけではありませんが、長期的に応援していただけると嬉しいです。
As a supporter of crowdfunding, I will post your name on the official website of our laboratory. It is not easy to obtain research results, but I would be happy if you could support us in the long term.
研究室Webにお名前掲載 / 研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
18 supporters are supporting with this reward. (No quantity limit)
11月10日(土)10:00〜12:00 に iCONMにて開催するサイエンスカフェにご招待いたします。発表は英語ですが日本語解説もつく予定ですので、ご予定が合いましたらぜひお越しください。私たちの研究のビジョンについて、直接お伝えする機会になればと思います。
We invite you to a science cafe to be held at iCONM from 10: 00-12: 00 on Saturday, November 10. Although the presentation is in English, Japanese commentary will also be posted so please come and visit us if your schedule is met. I think that it would be an opportunity to tell the vision of our research directly.
サイエンスカフェにご招待! / 研究室Webにお名前掲載 / 研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
10 supporters are supporting with this reward. (Limited to 30)
論文の謝辞にお名前を掲載いたします。ご支援時のお名前を掲載させていただきます。もしかすると歴史的な研究成果が生まれるかもしれません。私たちと一緒に脳腫瘍治療に挑んでいきましょう!
Your name will be posted to the acknowledgment of the paper. We will post the name registered in academist at the time of support. Perhaps historical research results may be born. Let 's challenge brain tumor treatment with us!
論文の謝辞にお名前掲載 / サイエンスカフェにご招待! / 研究室Webにお名前掲載 / 研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
5 supporters are supporting with this reward. (Limited to 10)
iCONM特別ラボツアーにご招待。日程は11月10日(土)13:00〜14:00 を予定しています。私たちが普段実験を行う施設を存分にご案内いたします。
Invited to iCONM special laboratory tour. We are planning a 13: 00〜14: 00 November 10 (Saturday). We will guide you through all the facilities.
iCONM特別ラボツアー / 論文の謝辞にお名前掲載 / サイエンスカフェにご招待! / 研究室Webにお名前掲載 / 研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. (Limited to 5)
脳腫瘍の研究に関する個別ディスカッションの時間を設けます(60分)。We will set up an individual discussion time for research on brain tumor (60 minutes)
個別ディスカッション権 / iCONM特別ラボツアー / 論文の謝辞にお名前掲載 / サイエンスカフェにご招待! / 研究室Webにお名前掲載 / 研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
0 supporters are supporting with this reward. (Limited to 1)
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研究報告レポート(PDF版・英語)
24
supporters
back
(No quantity limit)
研究室Webにお名前掲載 and others
18
supporters
back
(No quantity limit)
サイエンスカフェにご招待! and others
10
supporters
back
(Limited to 30)
論文の謝辞にお名前掲載 and others
5
supporters
back
(Limited to 10)
iCONM特別ラボツアー and others
0
supporters
back
(Limited to 5)
個別ディスカッション権 and others
0
supporters
back
(Limited to 1)