Scientists have discovered two genes that may be responsible for the most aggressive form of brain cancer.
The glioblastoma multiforme rapidly invades the brain, causing inoperable tumors, but experts do not yet understand why the brain is so agresivo.
In the latest study by a team of Columbia University, USA, and published in the journal Nature, is located two genes that seem to work in pairs to activate other cells that cause cancer.
Researchers say the discovery raises the hope of developing a cancer treatment.
Genes, C / EPB and Stat3, are active in 60% of patients with glioblastoma.
Patients who participated in the study who showed evidence of both active genes have died within the first 140 days of diagnosis.
While half of the patients with inactive genes remained alive after the time passed.
Master Control
The study leader, Antonio Iavarone, said that “when (the genes) are activated simultaneously work together to activate hundreds of genes that turn other brain cells in a highly aggressive and migratory cells,” he said.
Remove both genes simultaneously, with the help of a combination of drugs, can be a powerful therapy for such patients, for whom there is no satisfactory treatment
Antonio Iavarone
Iavarone said the discovery means that “delete both genes simultaneously, with the help of a combination of drugs, can be a powerful therapy for such patients, for whom no satisfactory treatment exists.”
When research scientists silenced these genes in human glioblastoma cells injected into a mouse, it completely blocked their ability to form tumors.
The next step for the Columbia team is trying to develop drugs that have the same effect.
Using cutting-edge techniques, the researchers planned the complex network of molecular interactions that allowed them to follow the behavior of glioblastoma cells.
Surprise
“The identification of C / EPB and Stat3 was a surprise for us, because these genes have never been linked to brain cancer,” said Iavarone.
In determining exactly how healthy cells become cancerous, scientists hope to uncover clues that help prevent or reverse the process
Nell Barrie
“From a therapeutic perspective, it means we no longer have to waste time developing drugs against minor players in brain cancer, now we can attack the big players.”
For its part, Nell Barrie, spokesman for the cancer research center in the United Kingdom, Cancer Research UK, said the discovery was “exciting because it sheds light on the key changes that cause cells in the brain glioblastoma become .
“In determining exactly how healthy cells become cancerous, scientists hope to uncover clues that help to prevent or reverse the process.”
Barrie said the technique used in the study should help experts understand these changes in other types of cancer, “which in future will lead to new and more personalized treatments.”
Tags: Brain cells, Cancer treatment, Glioblastoma, Tumors,