How Lung Cancer Spreads to the Brain and a Potential Treatment

Lung cancer is more likely to spread to the brain than breast cancer or melanoma. This is a big problem because the blood-brain barrier makes it hard for treatments to reach the brain. Researchers wanted to find out which cancer spreads to the brain the most and if a natural compound could stop it. They used different cancer cells to create brain metastasis models. After two rounds of testing, they found that lung cancer cells were the most likely to spread to the brain. They also tested a compound called artesunate (ARTS) and found that it was the most effective at stopping lung cancer cells from growing and moving. ARTS works by changing the way lung cancer cells stick together and move. It also seems to be able to get past the blood-brain barrier and build up in the brain, which could help stop lung cancer from spreading there. This is exciting because it means ARTS could be a new treatment for lung cancer that has spread to the brain. But there are still questions to be answered. Like, how exactly does ARTS get past the blood-brain barrier? And will it work as well in humans as it does in lab tests? More research is needed to find out.