Tag Archives: neuro-oncology

Glioblastma multiforme: Researchers find promise in new treatments

In a review paper published in the October issue of Neuro-Oncology, the researchers discuss various targeted therapies against IL13Rα2 and early successes of clinical trials with these therapies in the treatment of GBM. The paper also highlights the need for future trials to improve efficacy and toxicity profiles of targeted therapies in this field. …

Cancer-promoting protein is vital to safe division of tumor cells

In a paper published in Molecular Cell, Zhimin Lu, Ph.D., professor of Neuro-Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues report how a tumor-specific protein flips a crucial switch in an irregular mechanism for mitosis that allows cancer cells to safely divide. "Our research shows that tumor cells rely heavily on a distinct mechanism for orderly cell division that’s driven by oncogene-induced pyruvate kinase M2," Lu said. After a cell begins division by replicating all of its chromosomes, mitosis separates them into two identical sets of chromosomes for both cells. After mitosis, cytokinesis completes cell divison. …