RNA molecules slowed glioblastoma cells in a lab dish
Original title: Decoy and antisense RNA oligonucleotides targeting the EGFR exon 3 splice site suppress proliferation of A172 glioblastoma cells
How far along is this research?
This is a preprint. Other scientists have not checked it yet, so treat it as an early signal rather than an answer.
This was only done on cells in a dish, and each test was run once.
The short version
Small RNA molecules slowed the growth of brain tumor cells grown in a dish.
What was studied. Scientists built four small RNA molecules aimed at one spot on the EGFR gene. They added them to 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 and to lung cancer cells growing in dishes.
What they found. All four lowered the amount of EGFR protein in the 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. Some of them also slowed how fast those cells grew, on days 1 to 3. One of them slowed growth by day 3. None of these effects showed up in the lung cancer cells.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: EGFR is a protein the team was trying to block. Many 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 tumors carry extra copies of its gene. This work shares one early idea for how to go after it. It does not change care today.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment and not a cure. The work was done only on cells in a dish. It was not tested in animals or in people. The authors call the results preliminary. Each test was run one time. They also say one key step, showing the protein binds where they think it does, has not been proven. Work like this is many years and many steps away from a clinic.
Source: bioRxiv (preprint), October 27, 2026 · Read the original
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