Olive Oil Drug Could Serve As Effective Brain Cancer Treatment

As the results of an early trial show potential, doctors hope a novel olive oil drug could effectively treat a deadly brain cancer.

Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is an aggressive and fast-growing type of brain tumor. Each year, over 12,000 Americans get diagnosed with this. These tumors account for nearly half of all cancerous brain tumors that adult patients face, making it the most common malignant brain tumor type in adults. On average, its survival length is just eight months.

This brain cancer can affect individuals of any age. However, it is more prevalent among older adults and men.

Symptoms of glioblastoma include nausea and vomiting, headaches that get worse, seizures, and blurred or double vision.

Glioblastoma does not have a cure. However, at present, treatment options for the condition include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, tumor treating fields (TTF), supportive care, clinical trials, and surgery for glioblastoma removal.

Olive Oil Drug Treatment

While glioblastoma does not have a cure, 2-OHOA, or hydroxylic acid, which is a drug that derives from olive oil's key fatty acid (oleic acid), will undergo testing on newly diagnosed patients with glioblastoma in a coming study to be held in London. The medication changes tumor cell walls to inhibit the growth or spread of the cancer.

According to Dr. Michele Afif, who is the CEO of Brain Tumor Charity, these tumors are extremely hard to treat. Hence, any research that could potentially offer better treatments for glioblastoma patients is a crucial milestone. Dr. Afif adds that they welcome Phase 3 clinical trials for those with the condition, as very few novel treatments have been seen in the past few years.

Initial trial results of the olive oil drug found that out of 54 participants, one-fourth had a positive response to the oral medication when combined with water thrice a day. One of these participants had lived for over three years. The commonly reported side effects of the treatment are diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

A cancer research center in the UK is now recruiting over 200 patients to proceed with a Phase 3 trial.

The drug is considered a first-in-class treatment, offering unique and novel disease treatment methods. It is also designed to block cancer cell growth. It is a synthetic lipid taken from oleic acid that operates by restructuring cancer cells' abnormal membranes. Cancer cells' abnormal membranes make it easier for respective proteins in cells to meet the proteins that neighbor them. This leads to the creation of signals that drive the growth of the disease.

The signals are blocked by 2-OHOA by making cancerous cell membranes act like normal cells. The medications put brakes on the abnormal signals of growth that drive the progression of cancer.