Tissue Bank Pays Dividends for Brain Cancer Research

Researchers from the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research in Australia have recently discovered genetic information that could lead to new cancer treatments for metastatic brain tumors. The study is the first of its kind to use genome sequencing to help examine a cohort of secondary brain tumors. “We have identified particular genes and interrelated networks of genes linked to the development of brain metastases,” said a lead researcher from the study. “We have also found potential drug targets in a large proportion of the tumors, including a molecule called HER3 that we had already been investigating.” The results of the study, the researchers said, would not have been possible without the samples provided by the Brisbane Breast Bank, due to the difficult of obtaining metastatic brain cancer tissue samples. Researchers anticipate that the data from the study will be further analyzed by the international research community. To read more about this study, click here.