Researchers Discover New Genes That Promote Brain Cancer

A new collaborative study has identified two oncogenes, called GFI1 and GFI1B, that drive the development of medulloblastoma. The findings, recently published in Nature, suggest that GFI1 and GFI1B are worthy gene candidates for molecular-targeted therapy. “Using state-of-the-art technologies to survey the genomes of tumors derived from medulloblastoma patients, we have identified new oncogenes that drive the growth of a considerable proportion of Group 3 and 4 medulloblastomas,” said Robert Wechsler-Reya, PhD, co-senior author of the paper. The study also revealed how the oncogenes become activated in medulloblastoma by “hijacking” unrelated DNA elements called “enhancers” — short regions of DNA that activate genes. To learn more about the study, click here.