A fungus compound slowed brain tumor growth in lab dishes and in mice
Original title: Trichodermin exhibits potent anti-glioblastoma activity by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, suppressing invasion, and enhancing temozolomide efficacy.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was only done in lab cells and in mice, not in people.
The short version
A compound made by a fungus killed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in the lab and slowed brain tumors in mice.
What was studied. Researchers tested a compound called trichodermin, which comes from a fungus. They used two human glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cell lines grown in the lab, T98G and A172, and mice with glioblastoma tumors in the brain.
What they found. Trichodermin made fewer cells survive and grow. It stopped the cells from dividing and made them die. It also made the cells less able to move, invade, and stick in place. When it was paired with temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, a chemotherapy drug, the two worked better together than either one alone. In the mice, trichodermin slowed tumor growth in the brain and the mice lived longer.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Nothing here changes treatment today. It points to a possible new partner drug for temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary that is worth studying further. The researchers say more early lab work is still needed before anyone could think about testing it in people.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean trichodermin treats brain tumors in people. It was only tested in cells in a dish and in mice. Many things that work in mice do not work in humans. No person has been given this. It is not approved, it is not available, and it is not a cure.
Source: PubMed, July 20, 2026 · Read the original
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