Promising new study for children’s brain cancer
pharmafile | November 1, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | brain cancer, children, oncology
There has been positive news coming from researchers at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, at the University of Utah, reporting on their recent research into a particular drugs’ efficacy at treating a subgroup of childhood brain cancer.
The research was actually conducted on zebrafish, in a model designed to simulate an aggressive subtype of paediatric brain tumours. “For many pediatric brain tumors no cell or animal model exist to test targeted, or personalized, medications that could significantly improve survival and alleviate the harmful side effects of conventional therapies,” explained Rodney Stewart, an assistant professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences at the University of Utah and an HCI investigator. “Indeed, children with rare brain tumors have few options for life-saving treatment. Our hope is by creating this animal model we will be a step closer to finding effective therapies.”
The research was studying an aggressive brain tumour, known as primitive neuroectodermal tumours of the central nervous system. Previously, there have been few animal or cell line models designed in order to look into treating this form of childhood cancer.
Designing the new study, however, had a rewarding end. The researchers experimented with a targeted therapy, testing existing compounds to see if they would be effective on newly identified subgroups: the oligoneural or NB_FOXR2 CNS-PNET subgroup. They found treatment using MEK inhibitors produced strong responses. It reduced the tumour burden and in roughly 80% of the test fish, the tumours were completely removed and the tumours did not return.
Though the research is positive, there still remains a distinction to be made between the tumour type in fish and in humans. There is need for further studies to see if the results transfer. It’s a pressing need, as more children die of brain cancer than any other cancer. This research may lead to those numbers being reduced in the future.
Ben Hargreaves
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