Stem Cells and Children’s Brain Tumor
Medulloblastoma is the most common type of children’s brain cancer. It most often affects children between the ages of three and eight but it can also occur in young adults. So far, the scientists knew relatively little about medulloblastomas and why some patients responded poorly to the treatment. However, the new research conducted by the scientists at Queen Mary, University of London led to an important discovery.
The research about the role of stem cells in children’s brain tumor was led by Silvia Marino, Professor of Neuropathology at Queen Mary, University of London. The results of the study published in Oncogene on January 12 in 2010 reveal that medulloblastomas can grow from a type of brain stem cells, known as neural stem cells. The scientists have also proven that the type of brain cancer is a distinctive form of the disease which means that it might require a new approach to the treatment.
Considering the challenge medulloblastomas pose when it comes to treatment the discovery of the researchers at Queen Mary, University of London is a major step forward. The findings of the Professor Marino and her team have shown that some of the children’s brain tumors develop from endogenous stem cells which is very important for the understanding of the aggressive form of medulloblastomas and for development of more effective treatment.
Professor Marino and her team studied stem cells from mouse brains that are equivalent to the neural stem cells in the human brain. They discovered that genes Rb and p53 that are known to play a role in cancer might function improperly in the brain stem cells allowing uncontrolled growth of these cells and their transformation into cancer cells. The researchers also found that the patients with aggressive form of the disease have the same genetic pattern of the tumor.
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