14 DAY TRIAL // According to experts at the Queen Mary, University of London, stem cells can be one of the primary factors that allow for the appearance and development of brain tumors in small children. One of the most common forms of such tumors is called medulloblastoma, and experts have been puzzled for a long time over why some children respond better to treatment than others. The new investigation reveals that this type of cancer is formed by a specific type of stem cells, which means that they should be given a completely new approach than other types of cancers receive, PhysOrg reports.
Details of the new investigation were published today, in the scientific journal Oncogene. The work emphasizes that, most often, medulloblastomas affect children between the ages of three and eight. It also shows that the terrible disease kills about one in every five children who develop brain tumors. Recent studies have revealed that the condition can affect young adults as well, so finding a method of stopping it from spreading has become even more important.
“This type of brain tumor can pose a great challenge to doctors. In some children, treatment works well but in others the cancer is aggressive and far harder to treat. As scientists we've been trying to understand how these cancers which look the same can behave so differently. This study is a major advance for us because it shows for the first time that some of these tumors develop from endogenous stem cells,” QM Professor of Neuropathology Silvia Marino explains. She has also been the leader of the new investigation.
“This is important for two reasons. First, it could help us to tell which cancers will respond well to treatment and which will need a more aggressive therapy. Second, this new understanding could help us to find much-needed new drugs for the disease,” she adds. Her group identified neural stem cells as the perpetrators in the development of medulloblastomas. The researchers also identified two of the genes that played a role in altering the functions of these cells, allowing them to grow out of control. The two genes are called Rb and p53. A study on mice confirmed that these two factors forced neural stem cells to turn into the dangerous tumors.