Transcription Factor Discovery Opens Up New Therapies For Glioblastoma Multiforme

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified four transcription factors that distinguishes glioblastoma cells.

The four transcription factors identified were POU3F2, SOX2, SALL2 and OLIG2.

Transcription factors are proteins that regulates the expression of other genes. In this case, the transcription factors can zero in on a small ratio of glioblastoma cells responsible for the aggressiveness and treatment resistance of the deadly brain tumor.

A glioma is a tumor that commonly starts in the brain but can also manifest in the spine. These gliomas are categorized into grades from Grade I to Grade IV. Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most aggressive and deadly and is classified as a Grade IV Glioma.

Glioblastoma multiforme or GBM is the deadliest brain cancer around. It is also the most common. A patient diagnosed with GBM usually has one to two years to live.

By knowing the transcription factors responsible for the glioblastoma cells, therapies can be modeled that would target these factors. This discovery opens up the opportunity of finding new and alternative ways of treating this extremely difficult disease.

Using 5 ALA Fluorescence in Surgical Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme

The University of California San Francisco describes the use of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence to aid in visualizing tumor cells and differentiating them from other brain tissue during the surgical treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA) makes brain tumor cells glow hot pink when illuminated with a special blue light incorporated into an operating microscope during surgery. The light helps to identify and remove tumor cells in a process called Fluorescent Guided Resection (FGR).

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common and also the deadliest of brain cancers around. This form of cancer is very aggressive and a patient diagnosed with GBM has one to two years to live.

The cancerous tumor, called a glioma, starts in the brain or the spine. These gliomas are graded I to IV depending on how advanced the disease is. A Grade I GBM is the least advanced and offers the best prognosis. A Grade IV GBM is considered the most advanced and the hardest to treat.

Gliomas are groups of tumors that arise from the glia. Glias are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis. They form myelin (a protective layer of cells), and provide support and protection for neurons in the brain within the central nervous system (CNS).

Studies Show Pediatric Brain Tumors Are Diverse Enough To Require Different Treatments

A brain tumor is a space occupying lesion. It is a mass of unwanted tissue that is occupying space where the brain is supposed to be.

Pediatric brain tumors are one of the most common types of childhood cancers. Some of these tumors are benign which means that these aren't cancerous. Despite this, benign tumors can still be serious depending on the size and location. Malignant tumors are cancerous and are life threatening.

Brain tumors are initially detected through the symptoms being manifested. These symptoms might include:

• Headache
• Vomiting and nausea
• Personality changes
• Depression
• Trouble controlling muscles
• Seizures
• Vision or speech problems

Treatment for pediatric brain tumor sometimes differ from treatment of an adult brain tumor. The long term effect (or side effect) from the treatment and from the result itself is an important factor to consider since the brain can still be in a developing stage. Depending on the situation, surgical removal of the tumor, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are the considered options.

Children's brain tumors more diverse than previously believed

Paediatric brain tumours preserve specific characteristics of the normal cells from which they originate – a previously unknown circumstance with ramifications for how tumour cells respond to treatment. This has been shown by Uppsala researcher Fredrik Swartling together with colleagues in the U.S., Canada and England in a study that was published today in the distinguished journal Cancer Cell.

Every year, 80-90 children in Sweden are afflicted with brain tumours, a serious form of paediatric cancer. Today, three of four children who receive treatment survive.

Use of Gene Modified Blood Stem Cells Counteracts Toxic Effects of Chemotherapy

Blood stem cells can be found in the bone marrow, the soft, spongy interior of bones. Blood stem cells are also called hematopoietic stem cells and are responsible for resupplying blood cells. The blood cells are the red blood cells called the erythrocytes, the platelets which help in blood-clotting, and the leukocytes which are the white blood cells of the immune system.

The process where the body replaces these blood cells is called hematopoiesis. The stem cells in the bone marrow matures and starts to transform to either of the three types of blood cells. This process goes on constantly in the human body. The body also reacts to certain conditions and starts producing more of the blood cells such as movement to a high altitude and serious bleeding. These types of conditions require more blood into the blood stream to compensate for the changes encountered by the human body.

Gene-modified stem cell transplant protects patients from toxic side effects of chemotherapy

For the first time, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have transplanted brain cancer patients' own gene-modified blood stem cells in order to protect their bone marrow against the toxic side effects of chemotherapy. Initial results of the ongoing, small clinical trial of three patients with glioblastoma showed that two patients survived longer than predicted if they had not been given the transplants, and a third patient remains alive with no disease progression almost three years after treatment.

"We found that patients were able to tolerate the chemotherapy better and without negative side effects after transplantation of the gene-modified stem cells than patients in previous studies who received the same type of chemotherapy without a transplant of gene-modified stem cells," said Hans-Peter Kiem, M.D., senior and corresponding author of the study published in the May 9 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

New Developments On Glioblastoma: Cheaper Medication and Clues On Movement and Mechanism of Brain Cancer Cells

Grade IV Glioblastome Multiforme (GBM) is the most deadliest of brain cancers around. Unfortunately it is also the most popular of the gliomas. A glioma is a tumor that starts in the brain or the spine. These gliomas are categorized into grades. From grade I (least advanced disease — best prognosis) to grade IV (most advanced disease — worst prognosis).

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a group of tumors that arises from the glia, which are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis. These form myelin, and provide support and protection for neurons in the brain within the central nervous system (CNS).

A patient diagnosed with GBM is given 12 to 18 months to live.

Research yields new clues to how brain cancer cells migrate and invade

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a protein that transports sodium, potassium and chloride may hold clues to how glioblastoma, the most common and deadliest type of brain cancer, moves and invades nearby healthy brain tissue.

The findings, reported in the journal PLoS Biology, also suggest that a cheap FDA-approved drug already on the market could slow movement of glioblastoma cells, and contain their spread.

"The biggest challenge in brain cancer is the migration of cancer cells. We can't control it," says study leader Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., an associate professor of neurosurgery and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "If we could catch these cells before they take off into other parts of the brain, we could make malignant tumors more manageable, and improve life expectancy and quality of life. This discovery gives us hope and brings us closer to a cure."

Brain Cancer Vaccine, Heat Shock Protein Peptide Complex 96 (HSPPC-96) , Against Glioblastoma Multiforme Proves Effective

A glioma is a tumor that starts in the brain or the spine. The most common place a glioma starts is the brain. Gliomas are categorized into grades. From grade I (least advanced disease — best prognosis) to grade IV (most advanced disease — worst prognosis). A grade IV glioma is called Glioblastoma multiforme and it is the most aggressive.

Unfortunately, grade 4 gliomas are the most common with human.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a group of tumors that arises from the glia. The glia are non-neuronal cells that maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and provide support and protection for neurons in the brain_ within the central nervous system (CNS).

Patients with GBM die of their disease within 1 year and there is no long term survival of the disease. Because of this, scientists and doctors have focused a lot of time and effort in combating GBM. They have studied the disease and hopefully may find an effective cure and therapy.

Brain cancer vaccine proves effective

With help of patient groups, phase 2 clinical trial paves way for testing therapy that combines cancer vaccine with the drug Avastin

A new brain cancer vaccine called HSPPC-96 or Heat Shock Protein Peptide Complex 96, tailored to individual patients by using material from their own tumors has proven effective in a multicenter phase 2 clinical trial at extending their lives by several months or longer. The patients suffered from recurrent glioblastoma multiforme—which kills thousands of Americans every year.

Drug Makes Brain Tumors Glow Hot Pink

The hardest tumor to remove is a brain tumor. Some tumors look like part of the brain itself. To help identify the difference between tumors and healthy tissue and improve tumor resection, Doctor Andrew Sloan, Director of the Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center at UH Seidman Cancer Center, is testing an experimental drug called 5-Aminolevulinic Acid (5-ALA).

The drug makes brain tumor cells glow hot pink when illuminated with a special blue light incorporated into an operating microscope. The blue light helps to identify and remove tumor cells in a process called Fluorescent Guided Resection (FGR). This is unlike Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) where light is used to remove the tumor. FGR, on the other hand, helps the surgeon identify the tumor.

This process helps surgeons operating on the brain cancer to visualize the form of the tumor and see its edges more clearly. This allows them a more complete removal from the brain. 5-ALA is taken orally prior to surgery and also during the operation.

Compared to a person's normal tissue, high-grade gliomas (brain tumors) metabolize 5-ALA to protoporphyrin ix, a fluorescent compound that is similar in structure to that of chlorophyll found in plants. Tumors that absorb this compound glow with the blue light. Using a specially modified surgical microscope that contains the light, it enables the surgeon to see the glowing tumor tissue and help guide in removing the tumor.

"If we get out 95 to 99 percent of the tumor, we can almost essentially double the patient's survival," says Dr. Sloan.

Video: Dr. Sloan discusses 5-ALA and shows Fluorescent Guided Resection (FGR) in action.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid is not yet approved by the FDA in the United States although it is already used for FGR cancer treatment in Europe. UH Case Medical Center is one of the few hospitals studying the drug in the U.S. for brain tumor surgery.

Dr. Sloan is collaborating with David Dean, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Imaging Laboratory in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Case Western Reserve University. They are finding ways to improve how Fluorescent Guided Resection by precisely measuring protoporphyrin ix fluorescence in tumors using a digital fiber-optic probe during surgery. They believe that the digital probe will be both more sensitive and more precise than the current technique which is based on the surgeon's perception of how "pink" the tumor is.

"Nearly 13,000 people are diagnosed each year in the U.S. with malignant gliomas. Unfortunately, cures are rare and most patients live less than 2 years, so improved treatment options are critical," says Dr. Sloan.

About University Hospitals

University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org