Glioblastomas are the most common brain tumors in adults and are difficult to cure. But a new study gives a new target to stop the progression of the disease.
Glioblastoma is the most common brain tumor in adults. Malignant, it is difficult to treat: it does not grant much life expectancy to sick people. For patients who combine chemotherapy and radiotherapy in treatment, it would be only 14.6 months on average.
A tumor that is difficult to cure
This brain tumor is also mysterious. We do not really know its cause, except for people who have undergone irradiation of the brain to treat another pathology. In recent years, the number of patients has increased in Western countries. Many studies point to the waves caused by cell phones.
A study, recently published in the journal Cancer Cell, opens a way to treat this disease, which is particularly difficult to cure. And it is precisely by finding why it is particularly difficult to cure that the researchers found an answer.
A protein that regenerates cancer cells
Glioblastoma is tough in part because of stem cells, which allow the tumor to regenerate. The researchers looked at the composition of these stem cells. And they noted the high level of a protein, called TRF1 (for “telomeric repeat binding factor”). It is one of the components of shelterin, a set of proteins that protect the telomeres (region of DNA at the end of a chromosome).
Block protein to stop cancer
It is TRF1 that is thought to play an important role in the regeneration of cancer cells. First test: remove TRF1 from mice with developing glioblastoma. The tumor stopped growing and their life expectancy increased by 80%.
Then, same type of process on human people using a chemical compound that blocks the production of TRF1. And here too, the results have been convincing: the tumor no longer grows, life expectancy increases.
Next step: Researchers must now assess the effectiveness of TRF1 inhibitors when combined with other treatments for glioblastoma.
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