Bohemia, NY (PRWEB) April 05, 2013
On April 5, 2013, Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC) responds to an article posted by Bioscience Technology detailing how the blockage of molecular pathways in the brain could be a contributing factor in the development of brain tumors.
The Bioscience Technology article states that a coalition of researchers from various institutions have apparently identified pathways in the brain that feed the growth of brain tumors leading to medulloblastoma. Medulloblastoma, described as the most common form of brain cancer among children, might be a product of the interaction between tumor cells and neighboring tissue as a result of blockages, according to the article.
“A highly malignant tumor that originates in the cerebellum, medulloblastoma accounts for about 20 percent of all pediatric brain tumors and is ten times more common in children than in adults. While aggressive treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation significantly improves patient survival, those treatments can have long-term developmental, behavioral and neurological side effects, particularly in the youngest patients, making the need for less damaging therapies essential.”
The article emphasizes placental growth factor (PIGF) as the most likely cause for the development of medulloblastoma. Researchers “were surprised to find” that PIGF is influenced by the surrounding tissue and not by tumor cells. Since medulloblastoma cells are credited with the release of an enabling protein, signals are produced that stimulate the needed conditions to feed tumor growth.
Michael Klipper, Chairman for Voices Against Brain Cancer, responds to the findings of the medulloblastoma research. “Few things can compare to the devastating thought that a child could be deprived of a full life and promising future. Understanding how brain cancer originates and develops is the top priority for researchers in the field. If current research is developing a way to identify how medulloblastoma tumors grow, it is reasonable to assume that treatment options will develop in its wake.”
VABC has a wide variety of initiatives in place for brain cancer research, awareness and support. The organization’s research grants fund cutting-edge research programs that will have a monumental impact on the diagnosis and treatment of brain cancer. VABC currently funds research at several esteemed institutions such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cleveland Clinic, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, John Hopkins, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Yale, to name a few.
VABC's mission is to find a cure for brain cancer by advancing scientific research, increasing awareness within the medical community and supporting patients, their families and caregivers afflicted with this devastating disease.
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