Cell of origin in childhood brain tumors affects susceptibility to therapy
The study is published in the journal Cancer Research . The brain is composed mainly of two types of cells ; neurons and supportive cells called glial cells. Glioma are brain tumors that are similar to glial cells and in adults malignant glioma is the most common form of primary brain tumor. In children malignant glioma is relatively rare, but, as for adults, the prognosis is very poor, and of all childhood cancers malignant glioma is among the most lethal. Malignant glioma in children is much less studied than in adults and to improve the possibilities to find efficient drugs more knowledge and relevant disease models are needed. Also, most studies in the field have been focused on the genetics of the disease and there is a lack of knowledge about in which cell type the tumor has originated and how this particular cell type affects the properties of the tumor. This is exactly what the researchers have investigated in the present study where they have used mouse models of gl...