Research Spotlight: Reimagining Treatment Strategies for Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma remains one of the most aggressive and lethal brain tumors, with few durable treatment options and outcomes that have changed little over time. For Benjamin Purow, MD, that reality has shaped both his clinical career and research focus.
“I have always felt driven to help fight some of the most terrible cancers medically and with research discoveries,” says Purow. That drive took root early during his pediatric oncology fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, where exposure to both the research and clinical sides of neuro-oncology solidified his commitment to the field.
Today, Purow splits his time between caring for patients with brain tumors and leading a laboratory focused on developing creative, translational strategies to treat glioblastoma and other brain cancers. He shares more about his research in this video and Q&A.
Benjamin Purow, MD, on Researching Glioblastoma Treatments
I love having the opportunity to spend my days working hard to come up with new and potentially creative approaches to fighting glioblastoma and other brain tumors, and hopefully have an impact outside of that, as well. I'm Benjamin "BJ" Purow. I'm a neuro-oncologist physician scientist here at the University of Virginia. I see patients with brain tumors, both adult and a few pediatric. In my research time, we look at a range of approaches in the laboratory to better treat glioblastoma and other brain cancers. In particular, I'm excited about better using existing drugs and agents, either alone in new ways or in combinations. For example, we have a combination now that's actually over the counter that we think can meaningfully boost immune system activity. We're hopeful that our research can impact human health ultimately in various ways. We're focused, of course, specifically on ways to treat brain tumors, but some of the things we do could also have a broader impact. For example, combining over-the-counter agents to better boost the immune system could lead to new approaches, not just across cancer, but also for infectious diseases very broadly, for other diseases in neurology such as Alzheimer's disease. So those are the goals.
What are you working on right now?
A major focus of our work is identifying novel combinations of existing drugs — even over-the-counter agents — to synergistically enhance anti-cancer immune activity or directly kill brain tumor cells, particularly glioblastoma. We're investigating an exciting over-the-counter combination for its ability to boost immune cell activity and killing of glioblastoma cells. Our group is also studying inhibition of a protein called DGK alpha for its potential to increase activation of various immune cells, as well as directly kill some glioblastoma cells.
What are the most intriguing potential clinical applications of your research?
The primary goals and applications of our work are toward improving the treatment and outcomes of patients with glioblastomas and other brain tumors, aiming to meet a dire need. We are hopeful that our work can also be applied more broadly to oncology as a whole, helping to boost immunotherapies for cancer. Beyond oncology, we anticipate that one of our current combinations may also have potential as an inexpensive, safe over-the-counter option to boost immune function against infectious diseases and also for neuroprotection, neurodegenerative diseases, and wound healing.
What recent discoveries have impacted the way you think?
A few high-impact papers from recent years on repurposing existing agents to enhance immunity and help kill glioblastoma cells have impressed and excited me and affected my thinking on the field.
What do you wish more people knew about your area of research?
The potential of neuro-oncology research to address not only the dire need for new treatments for brain tumors but to also drive advances in neuroscience and other areas.
What made you choose UVA Health as the place to do your research?
I have felt privileged to be at UVA Health for its great strength on both the research and clinical sides, as well as its culture and collaborative environment.
