Hebrew University compound restores chemotherapy's punch against resistant brain tumours

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified a way to overcome one of the main reasons the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma stops responding to treatment. The study, led by postdoctoral fellow Dr Mallikarjuna Nimgampalle and Professor Haitham Amal, was published in Cancer Medicine at the end of June 2026 and reported by JNS and the Tazpit Press Service on 12 July.

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in adults. Even with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, patients survive a median of about 12 to 18 months, and only around 5 to 7 percent live five years. A major obstacle is that tumours become resistant to temozolomide, the standard chemotherapy drug.

The team found that glioblastoma cells survive chemotherapy partly through nitrosative stress, a state in which they produce excess nitric oxide that helps them grow, spread and resist treatment. They tested BA-101, an experimental compound that selectively blocks neuronal nitric oxide synthase, the enzyme behind much of that nitric oxide. In laboratory experiments BA-101 slowed the growth of tumour cells, reduced their ability to invade surrounding tissue and increased cell death. Combined with temozolomide it worked better than either drug alone, and in mouse models the combination significantly reduced tumour growth.

The researchers stress that BA-101 is experimental and must pass further studies and clinical trials before it can be given to patients. They suggest a broader strategy: rather than replacing existing chemotherapy, future treatments could disable the defences that let tumours shrug it off. If later studies confirm the results, the strategy could also be tested in other cancers that learn to resist chemotherapy.