Early test of a targeted radiation drug in four people with returning high-grade glioma
Original title: Targeted alpha therapy for recurrent high-grade glioma with [²²⁵Ac]-PSMA: a new theranostic approach.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
Only tried in a few people to check safety, and not yet approved.
The short version
A small early study tried a new kind of targeted radiation in four people whose brain tumor came back.
What was studied. Four people with high-grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary that had come back got a drug called [225Ac]-PSMA. Three had glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. The drug carries a strong but short-range type of radiation to a marker found on the tumor's blood vessels.
What they found. The tumor grew again in every patient after treatment. But the main tumor spot the doctors tracked shrank in one patient and stayed the same size in another. No serious side effects from the drug were seen, and the most common mild side effect was a dry mouth.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This drug seemed safe enough in these few patients to keep studying. It may one day become another option for people whose tumor has come back.
What it doesn't mean: This was a very small, early study in only four people. The tumor still grew again in all of them. It does not prove the drug works, and it is not a cure. Much larger studies are needed before it could be part of everyday care.
Source: PubMed, September 21, 2026 · Read the original
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