An international team has discovered a way to stop the growth of a brain tumor, a subtype of Meduloblastomathe most common childhood brain cancer, before it begins.
In the study published in ‘Nature Communications‘It is demonstrated that a drug, CT-179, acts on a specific subset of tumor cells responsible for recurrence and resistance to therapy in pediatric brain cancer. The findings could lead to more effective and less toxic treatments, improving the survival and quality of life of young patients.
“Current treatments, which include radiotherapy and chemotherapy, of Emory University and author of the study. “These cancerous stem cells can make the tumor grow again after treatment, which causes a fatal recurrence.”
Brain cancer, The second cause of death in children in the developed worldpresents a unique set of challenges for researchers: when a person experiences symptoms, tumors are usually so complex that the fundamental mechanisms that drive tumor growth are no longer easy to identify.
In the case in which treatments are effective, long -term effects on their development and quality of life are important, especially in young children and infants.
Scientists have identified a protein that is responsible for awakening “sleeping” stem cells and promoting the formation and growth of meduloblastoma SHH. When blocking this protein and preventing stem cells from waking up, the study demonstrates what could be a fundamental treatment strategy for cancer, using avant -garde genomic approaches in combination with functional experiments in a preclinical model.
“Our findings offer a new strategy to attack cancer stem cells, which is hope for more effective treatments against aggressive brain tumors,” says Peter Dirks, of the Hospital for sick children (Sickkids) In Australia.
Meduloblastoma
The team studied cell transitions in the development of the SHH medulloblastoma and discovered that the OLIG2 protein activated “sleeping” stem cells, favoring tumor growth. They identified a key window in which they could block this progression by combining a standard treatment with the CT-179 molecule, avoiding the relapse of the tumor. In preclinical models, CT-179 also prevented tumor formation and improved survival.
The study complements a recent investigation of the Dirks laboratory published in ‘Nature‘, which describes the early stages of glioblastoma development.
«Children with brain cancer urgently need more effective and less toxic treatments», Says Professor Bryan Day, who directs the Cerebral Cancer Laboratory Sid Faithfull of Qimr Berghofer and is co -director of the Children’s Cerebral Cancer Center in Australia. «Our study showed that the CT-179 drug, used in combination with standard radiotherapy, can cross the blood brain barrier and penetrate the tumor. He prolonged survival in a variety of preclinical meduloblastoma models, delayed the recurrence of the disease and increased the effectiveness of radiotherapy. Brain cancer is an incredibly difficult puzzle. As researchers, which makes us get out of bed every day is to try to solve it, ”adds Day.
Report an error
#Innovative #therapy #stops #child #brain #tumor #formed
