As reported by Science Translational Medicine, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine Glioblastoma, run study aimed to influence glioma stem cells. This small population of tumor cells have the capacity to grow and multiply indefinitely, and can lead to tumor recurrence, they might not be affected by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
To study these tumors and test new therapies, researchers used mice that bear glioblastoma tumor samples donated by patients who underwent surgery. With this approach, they recently discovered that treatment with both a targeted cancer therapy and the multiple sclerosis (MS) drug teriflunomide halts glioblastoma stem cells, markedly shrinks tumors and improves mouse survival. Teriflunomide is an immunomodulatory drug inhibiting pyrimidine de novo synthesis by blocking the enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, required to synthesize pyrimidine.

The team also tested two targeted cancer therapies: BKM-120, an inhibitor that works best in glioblastoma cells driven by lack of an enzyme called PTEN, and lapatinib, an inhibitor used to treat cancers driven by mutations in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). With BKM-120 treatment alone, tumors shrank moderately and mice survived even longer, compared to either placebo-treated mice or teriflunomide-treated mice.
But when treated with both teriflunomide and BKM-120, tumors shrank markedly on average and the mice survived significantly longer, compared to placebo-treated mice or mice who received either treatment alone.

Although results are very promising, clinical trials are required to investigate interaction with the human immune system, which we plays an important role in determining tumor growth and survival.