More than 200 genes with novel and known roles in glioblastoma—the most aggressive type of brain cancer—offer promising new drug targets.
Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and their collaborators engineered a new mouse model to show for the first time how a mutation in the well-known cancer gene, EGFR initiates glioblastoma, and works with a selection from more than 200 other genes to drive the cancer.
The results, published today in Genome Biology present the first mouse model of its kind, which is available for the research community to advance new treatments for this lethal form of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma is an aggressive form of brain cancer. It is treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, however glioblastoma cells can evade treatment and tumors return. The prognosis is poor—the average patient survives for 12-18 months following diagnosis.
New, targeted treatments and immunotherapies are currently being developed to help glioblastoma patients. It is still not known exactly why glioblastomas begin to grow.
In a new study, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators created a new mouse model with glioblastoma to investigate which genes were implicated in the cancer.
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