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15 Sep 2008
A total of three genes which are key to the development of a form of childhood brain cancer have been identified by scientists.
Staff at the University of Nottingham in the UK have said they hope their findings, which are published in the British Journal of Cancer, could help in the development of more effective treatments for ependymoma.
Ependymomas are a rare type of glioma, which is a tumour in the cells which support and protect the nerve cells within the brain and spinal cord.
The staff examined gene activity in 74 samples of ependymoma and found three genes - called SI00A4, SI00A6 and CHI3L1 - located on a single chromosome which had previously been linked to poor survival for the tumours, the BBC notes.
"Understanding the biological causes of cancer is vitally important as it will help us to develop drugs that target abnormal genes in cancer cells but not in healthy cells, which is what traditional chemotherapy treatments do," commented lead author Professor Richard Grundy.
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