Fluspirilene (schizophrenia drug)

Identification of antipsychotic drug fluspirilene as a potential anti-glioma stem cell drug
link to full study in Oncotarget

The TGS04 GBM glioma stem cell line used in the mouse study was established from a human glioblastoma at the University of Tokyo.  These cells were implanted in the brains of nude mice. Fluspirilene was administered intramuscularly, as it is in humans.

Above: Fluspirilene treated mice had reduced tumor volume, increased survival and more sharply defined tumor borders (less diffuse).

Above: fluspirilene treated tumors showed greatly decreased expression of STAT3 with phosphorylation at serine 727.  In other words, there was less activated STAT3 in these tumors.
"STAT3 can be transcriptionally activated by phosphorylation of its tyrosine 705 or serine 727 residue"

STAT3 is an important target in GBM and other cancers, helping to co-ordinate such cellular behaviours as invasion, angiogenesis, anti-apoptosis and immunosuppression.