14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers with the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM) announce the discovery of a new genetic target that apparently plays a role in the development of glioblastoma multiforme.
This condition is the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, and survival rates among patients are extremely poor. In the new study, the team found that this disease is promoted by a gene called melanoma differentiation associated gene-9/syntenin (mda-9/syntenin), Science Blog reports.
In a paper published in a recent issue of the scientific journal Neuro-Oncology, the research group says that this gene helps GBM grow and invade normal brain tissue, thus allowing the tumor to spread fast.
A statistical analysis of available literature on glioblastoma found that higher levels of mda-9/syntetin expression were correlated to faster-growing tumors and lower survival times. However, the silver lining here is that this molecule can now be targeted by treatments aimed at reducing the speed with which GBM ills.
“Our current study represents a major breakthrough in understanding what drives GBM, and it is a starting point for the development of future therapies,” explains Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, the lead author of the study, and the director of the VIMM.