Targeting tumor stem cells
Clinical trial at the University of Cincinnati involves targeting stem cells for personalized treatment of brain cancer
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are leading the local arm of a study looking at ways to test for chemosensitivity in brain tumor stem cells to determine treatment response and outcomes for patients.
The primary site for the clinical trial is Marshall University in West Virginia, but Nicholas Marko, MD, director of the UC Brain Tumor Center, is leading the study locally.
“We are collecting tumor tissue from our patients and sending it to our collaborators at Marshall,” says Marko, who is also an associate professor of neurosurgery at the UC College of Medicine and a member of both the Gardner Neuroscience and Cancer Institutes. “These researchers grow stem cells from the tumor and then try to kill those cells with a number of chemotherapy drugs. The therapy that works best, based on these outcomes, is the patient’s designated study drug.”
Marko says when glioblastoma, an extremely malignant form of brain tumor, recurs in patients, the treatment options are often minimal, as surgery and radiation are not usually a possibility.
“In this study, patients with recurrent glioblastoma will receive standard therapy, including surgery if the tumor can be removed, and for the chemotherapy portion of their treatment, participants will be randomized between treatments chosen by the physician—standard cancer treatments—or the personally-selected, chemosensitivity drug. The goal is to see if this personalized therapy is more effective than standard of care.
“The idea is similar to when we test for bacterial sensitivity against antibiotics, in case of a bacterial infection. The test, in this case, uses sample specimens obtained following surgery for the treatment of brain cancer.”
Marko says that participants will be assessed by either brain MRI with contrast or CT scans at two to three month intervals after therapies are administered.
“The hope is that this study will lead to more personalized, targeted treatment for patients with a very serious cancer,” he says.
This study is being funded by ChemoID. Marko cites no conflict of interest.
*Photo credit: Colleen Kelley / University of Cincinnati, Communication Services
To find out more about enrolling in the study, call 513-418-2282.
Related Stories
Recent advances may speed time to endometriosis diagnosis
March 16, 2026
The average time to clinical diagnosis of endometriosis is nine years. Definitive diagnosis of the disease is difficult, and until recently, has relied on laparoscopic surgery. Now, as Medscape recently reported, novel clinical recommendations, advanced diagnostic tools and research into inflammation and immune responses, are bringing promise that women with endometriosis will find relief sooner and without surgery, according to experts, including Katie Burns, PhD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine associate professor.
Local media highlight completion of Blood Cancer Healing Center fourth and fifth floors
March 16, 2026
Local media including WLWT and the Cincinnati Business Courier highlighted the opening of research laboratories and the UC Osher Wellness Suite and Learning Kitchen at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Blood Cancer Healing Center.
Trial results support weekly buprenorphine treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy
March 16, 2026
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers led by the University of Cincinnati's John Winhusen published clinical trial results in JAMA Internal Medicine that found administering weekly injectable extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder during pregnancy led to higher rates of abstinence from illicit opioids than buprenorphine given daily under the tongue, one of the standard methods of treatment.