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FRIDAY, Nov. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've discovered a promising treatment target for glioblastoma multiforme -- one of the most common and deadliest types of brain tumor.
"We've found that a particular protein may play a major role in the progression of these tumors, suggesting an attractive new treatment approach," Dr. Waldemar Debinski, director of the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.
His team found that glioblastoma cells have significantly increased levels of the protein EphA2 compared to normal cells. However, the EphA2 found in the glioblastoma cells is inactive and the researchers believe it's this inactive form of the protein that helps these cancer cells survive and spread.
The researchers then treated glioblastoma cells with a naturally occurring molecule called ephrinA1, which binds to EphA2 and activates it.
"We observed that cells treated with ephrinA1 slowed down their growth and were less likely to exhibit invasive properties," Debinski said.
This suggests that developing medications that alter levels of EphA2 and ephrinA1 may prove effective in treating glioblastoma multiforme, the researchers said. The study appears in the October issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Research.
"EphA2 represents a novel target for the development of molecular therapeutics for the imaging and treatment of patients with glioblastoma. New therapies are clearly needed because, despite the standard treatment of surgically removing the tumor and treating the patient with chemotherapy and radiation, survival has increased only slightly over the past 30 years," Debinski said.
People with glioblastoma multiforme have a median post-diagnosis survival time of nine to 12 months, and a five-year survival rate of just 1 to 5 percent.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about brain tumors (www.cancer.gov ).
-- Robert Preidt
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