The study, published in Nature Medicine, identified a small molecule inhibitor that increases histone methylation, compensating for the reduced methylation caused by mutation in the H3F3A gene, resulting in gliomas.
Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have discovered a new potential drug that shows promise in treating a rare and incurable form of brain tumor in children. When the researchers used an experimental drug called GSKJ4, it inhibited the tumor-forming ability of a specific genetic mutation and prolonged survival in mice models.
Pediatric brainstem glioma, also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), is a type of brain tumor that grows in the brainstem, which controls many of the critical body functions. Due to their location inside the brainstem, these tumors cannot be removed by surgery, nor targeted effectively with radiation or chemotherapy. The disease is thus incurable, and patients survive less than one year with this condition.
"No significant advances in the survival of DIPG patients have been made over the last few decades, and new therapeutic approaches are desperately needed," said first author of the study, Rintaro Hashizume, MD, PhD, assistant professor in neurological surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Complete article on BioProcess Online: http://bit.ly/1riwbpU
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
Listen
Navigating the Mental Health Challenges of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship
March 12th 2024Stress has potential links to worse outcomes in cancer, such as decreased quality of life and greater risks of disease progression and metastasis. There is a complex mix of emotions patients with cancer experience.
Read More