An experimental drug slowed brain tumor cells in the lab and in mice
Original title: Toward pharmacologic therapy for glioblastoma: Characterization of the very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase 3 (ACSVL3) inhibitor Grassofermata.
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 cells in dishes and in mice, not in people.
The short version
A drug called grassofermata slowed glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary cells in dishes and shrank tumors in some mice, but it has not been tried in people.
What was studied. Researchers looked at an enzyme called ACSVL3. It shows up in glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary cells but not in normal brain cells. They tested a drug called CB5, also called grassofermata, on human glioma cells in dishes and on tumors grown under the skin of mice.
What they found. CB5 slowed the growth of U87MG glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary cells. A low dose slowed growth without killing the cells, and the effect went away when the drug was removed. Higher doses were toxic to the tumor cells, but the same higher dose did not harm normal human skin cells. In mice, tumors treated with CB5 grew more slowly after 7 days of treatment, and by 12 days the tumors had started to get smaller. In a second mouse test using Mayo-22 tumor cells, the drug did not make a clear difference. Mice given the drug showed no obvious side effects.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to a possible new target for glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary treatment. Scientists found a drug that acts on it and does not seem to harm normal cells in a dish. That is an early, hopeful sign for future research. It does not change any treatment choice a patient faces today.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment you can get. The work was done in cells in dishes and in mice, not in people. No one has tested whether it is safe or helpful in humans. The drug also failed to clearly help in one of the two mouse tests. Most drugs that work in mice never work in people. This is not a cure, and it is many years and many studies away from everyday care.
Source: PubMed, July 8, 2026 · Read the original
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