Duke University researchers have identified a receptor on the surface of cells that may give them another avenue of attack against glioblastoma, the most common and most deadly type of brain cancer.

The neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), which may be expressed in all human glioblastoma cells, may prove to be an appropriate target for therapies aimed at treating these brain tumors, according to a study led by researchers in the Duke Department of Anesthesiology and the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke.

"There are some previously identified cellular targets for therapy which are now being investigated in clinical trials, and the findings from our research represent potential alternate or complementary targets that may help patients facing this devastating disease," said Madan Kwatra, PhD, a researcher in Duke's department of anesthesiology, and senior investigator on this study. "Patients generally die from the disease within 18 months of glioblastoma diagnosis."

The results of the study were published in the March 30, 2009 online edition of the Journal of Neurochemistry…