It may soon be possible to identify Group 4 medulloblastomas—the most common malignant brain tumor in children–from more aggressive Group 3 tumors. Research based on a little-explored part of RNA, which creates proteins, could lead to the development of better-targeted cancer treating drugs, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Four groups of medulloblastomas have been identified, with Group 3 being the most aggressive — survival at 5 years is a 45% to 60% rate. Group 4 is the most common form of medulloblastoma, accounting for 35-40% of all cases.
The findings were published in Aug. 22 in the journal Neuro-Oncology Advances.
To date, it is difficult to distinguish Group 3 tumors — which have a better prognosis (five-year survival is 75%-80%) — from Group 4 tumors. Treatment for Group 3 is more aggressive than Group 4, often including radiation therapy. Distinguishing between Group 3 and Group 4 medulloblastomas relies on immunohistochemistry of tissue samples–specialized testing used to distinguish types—and imaging.
“Group 3 and group 4 medulloblastomas are very similar to each other and, it’s hard to differentiate them under the microscope. So, we started looking at the molecular markers,” said senior study author Ranjan Perera, Ph.D., director of the Center for RNA Biology at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Perera is also a senior scientist at the JHACH Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute and an associate professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has a secondary affiliation with the JHACH Institute for Fundamental Biomedical Research.
In particular, the investigators looked at long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), which experts thought did not play a role in building proteins. New evidence, however, finds that they play a role in regulating gene expression that impacts cancer growth and behavior.
