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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Health & Science

Ecuadorian Scientist Investigates Drug for Incurable Brain Tumor in the United States

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • María José Ulloa, an Ecuadorian scientist working at Mayo Clinic in the United States, leads research into a treatment for glioblastoma.
  • Her team is studying drugs that could alter cancer-cell metabolism and make the cells easier for CAR-T immune-cell therapy to target.
  • The research remains in the preclinical stage and could move to human trials if it proves safe and effective.

María José Ulloa has spent her scientific career trying to understand the brain. Now, at 34, the Ecuadorian researcher leads a team in the United States seeking a treatment for glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive brain tumors and one that still has no cure.

Ulloa says her interest began while she studied biochemistry and biomedical sciences. The work now occupies part of her daily life alongside caring for her daughter, Ana María, and running her home. At Mayo Clinic, she works with a team of 12 other people on research aimed at giving patients with brain cancer another option.

I was born at the Clínica de la Mujer in Quito, and I grew up in Tumbaco.

· María José UlloaShe describes her Ecuadorian roots while discussing her life outside the laboratory.

Glioblastoma is a primary brain tumor that can affect adults of any age. “It is a disease that currently has no cure,” Ulloa says, adding that patients may live for up to 15 months after diagnosis.

It is a disease that currently has no cure. The life expectancy for them can be 15 months from diagnosis.

· María José UlloaShe explains the severity of glioblastoma.

Her approach seeks to develop drugs that alter the metabolism of cancer cells so they can be eliminated. At the same time, the treatment would make those cells easier to identify and attack with CAR-T therapy, which uses genetically modified immune cells. “That metabolic modulation not only kills the cancer cells, but at the same time makes them therapeutic targets for a cellular therapy called CAR-T,” she explains.

The research also examines the tumor microenvironment. It is currently in the preclinical phase, with studies involving cell cultures, laboratory work and animals nearing completion. If the results are positive and the therapy proves safe and effective, Ulloa hopes the research can advance to clinical trials in humans in the next two years.

That metabolic modulation not only kills the cancer cells, but at the same time makes them therapeutic targets for a cellular therapy called CAR-T.

· María José UlloaShe describes how the proposed treatment could work alongside CAR-T therapy.
About this summary

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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