Chapter 8 - Metastatic brain tumor models and drug brain penetration analysis

Abstract

Among the adult brain tumors, metastatic brain tumors are the most frequently observed in the United States. The high mortality of metastatic brain tumors is partly due to poor drug accumulation in the brain, accounting for persistent treatment failure. The three critical elements for successful selection of novel drugs for the treatment of metastatic brain tumors are effective drug carriers for blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration, sensitive measurement of drug uptake in the brain, and relevant mouse metastatic brain tumor models. In this chapter, we discuss various animal models for metastatic brain tumor investigation, functions of the BBB, measurement of drug intake in brain and drug carriers for drug BBB penetration and brain accumulation. We believe that with the advancement and improvement of technology, new drugs with high BBB penetration and strong anticancer activity will be more readily available for treatment of human metastatic brain tumors.