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New brain tumor model developed
October 31, 2005A collaboration of researchers, led by Dr. Martine Roussel (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital), has developed a novel mouse model of medulloblastoma - the most prevalent malignant pediatric brain tumor - that the researchers hope will more accurately represent the genetic changes involved in human brain tumor development.
Their study will be published in the November 15th issue of Genes & Development, but will also be made available online ahead of print on 10/31.
In their upcoming paper, the authors identify a heretofore unknown role for the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, INK4C, in mediating medulloblastoma development, independent of p53 status. Using Ink4c-mutant mice, Dr. Roussel and colleagues demonstrated that Ink4c inactivation cooperates with mutations in Patched (Ptc1, a Shh receptor) to stimulate medulloblastoma formation, even when the p53 gene is intact.
Previously generated highly penetrant models of medulloblastoma rely on p53 loss for tumorigenesis, though in human patients, only about 10% of people actually display p53 mutations. "Preliminary data suggest that INK4c protein expression is diminished in a significant cohort of human medulloblastomas," says Dr. Roussel, "so the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at our Institution is now planning to include a comprehensive survey of INK4c status in order to determine its prognostic significance."
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Previously generated highly penetrant models of medulloblastoma rely on p53 loss for tumorigenesis, though in human patients, only about 10% of people actually display p53 mutations. "Preliminary data suggest that INK4c protein expression is diminished in a significant cohort of human medulloblastomas," says Dr. Roussel, "so the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at our Institution is now planning to include a comprehensive survey of INK4c status in order to determine its prognostic significance."
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Brain Tumor Current Events and Brain Tumor News RSSPediatric study finds alternatives for radiation of low-grade brain tumors
A multi-institutional study led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has found that using chemotherapy alone and delaying or avoiding cranial radiation altogether can be effective in treating pediatric patients with unresectable or progressive low-grade glioma.
New approach to gene therapy may shrink brain tumors, prevent their spread
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers are investigating a new approach to gene therapy for brain tumors - delivering a cancer-fighting gene to normal brain tissue around the tumor to keep it from spreading.
Family history of brain tumors linked to increased risk of brain cancer
People with a family history of cancerous brain tumors appear to be at higher risk of developing the same kind of tumors compared to people with no such family history.
Barrow researchers identify a new approach to detect the early progression of brain tumors
Researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center recently participated in a pilot study with the Montreal Neurological Institute that suggests a certain type of MRI scanning can detect when a patient is failing brain tumor treatment before symptoms appear.
Childhood brain tumor traced to normal stem cells gone bad
An aggressive childhood brain tumor known as medulloblastoma originates in normal brain "stem" cells that turn malignant when acted on by a known mutant, cancer-causing oncogene, say researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Erectile dysfunction drugs allowed more chemotherapy to reach brain tumors in laboratory study
In a study using laboratory animals, researchers found that medications commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction opened a mechanism called the blood-brain tumor barrier and increased delivery of cancer-fighting drugs to malignant brain tumors.
Certain anticancer agents could be harmful to patients with heart disease
A set of promising new anticancer agents could have unforeseen risks in individuals with heart disease, suggests research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
St. Jude finds young age may give survival advantage to children with certain brain tumors
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have shown that children under 3 years old who have a brain tumor called diffuse pontine glioma (DPG) appear to have a better outcome than older children with the same cancer.
Brown Chemists Create Cancer-Detecting Nanoparticles
A team led by a Brown University chemist has created the smallest iron oxide nanoparticles to date for cancer detection by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The magnetic nanoparticles operate like tiny guided missiles, seeking and attaching themselves to malignant tumor cells. Once they bind, the particles emit stronger signals that MRI scans can detect.
MRI: A window to genetic properties of brain tumors
Doctors diagnose and prescribe treatment for brain tumors by studying, under a microscope, tumor tissue and cell samples obtained through invasive biopsy or surgery.
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