Genes Help Identify Some Glioblastomas
A class of brain tumor that tends to emerge in younger patients, but is less aggressive than others, can be identified by examining DNA methylation of a specific set of genes. Patients with these glioblastomas survive longer after diagnosis than those with other types.
¡°Discovery of molecular factors that define subgroups of glioblastoma will help us identify new therapeutic options for patients,¡± says study co-senior author Ken Aldape, M.D., professor in MD Anderson¡¯s Department of Pathology. ¡°In this case, therapeutically altering the methylation state of the tumor¡¯s genes might be a new avenue for treatment.¡±
Methylation is an epigenetic process that affects gene expression without damaging or altering the gene¡¯s DNA sequence. The Cancer Genome Atlas, whose colleagues collaborated with scientists at MD Anderson, is a joint initiative of the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute to increase understanding of cancer genetics.
Reported in April in the online journal Cancer Cell.
