“This is the first time an ion pump has been tested as a possible method to treat malignant brain tumours. We used cancer cells in the lab, and the results are extremely promising. However, it will probably take five to ten years before we see this new technology used in treatments for brain tumours”, said Daniel Simon, associate professor at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at the Department of Science and Technology at Linköping University. Surgical removal of brain tumours often leaves small parts of the tumour behind, which can require chemotherapy to stop the cancer recurring. In order to reach the brain, chemotherapy drugs must first spread through the circulatory system and then pass through the blood-brain barrier. The walls of the small blood vessels in the brain are much less permeable than blood vessels in the rest of the body and can prevent many substances in the blood entering the brain.