Researchers Develop a New Target for Personalized Brain-cancer Treatment

In a recent study published in the journal Genome Research, researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a new fusion protein found in approximately 15 percent of secondary glioblastomas. The finding offers new insights into the cause of this type of cancer and provides a therapeutic target for personalized oncologic care. “While genomic profiling is yielding improved understanding of primary glioblastoma, our understanding of secondary glioblastoma remains rudimentary,” said the study’s lead author. Primary glioblastomas occur in the elderly, without evidence of a less malignant precursor. Secondary glioblastomas occur mostly in younger patients and progress from low-grade, less aggressive precursor tumors to glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of the disease. During the study, researchers used a technology called RNA-Seq to study the RNA sequences derived from 272 clinical tumor specimens from patients afflicted with secondary glioblastoma or precursor forms of the tumor. The results revealed that the RNA sequences of brain cancers become progressively more abnormal as the tumor becomes more malignant. More specifically, the frequency of aberrant RNAs fusing gene sequences not normally found next to one another increased with tumor grade. The study estimates that 15 percent of the secondary glioblastomas harbor this fusion. To read more about this study, click here.