Project description:In this study, we screened a cohort of 57 paediatric brain tumours, with a wide range of pathologies to identify gene expression profiles
Project description:In this study, we screened a cohort of 57 paediatric brain tumours, with a wide range of pathologies to identify gene expression profiles We analysed gene expression in paediatric brain tumours as compared to normal adult brain in order to understand the molecular profiles. Our cohort included 15 pilocytic astrocytomas, 3 diffuse astrocytomas, 2 anaplastic astrocytomas, 5 glioblastomas, 14 ependymomas, 9 medulloblastomas, 5 atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours, 4 choroid plexus papillomas, 8 adult brain and 8 foetal brain controls.
Project description:In this study, we screened a cohort of 57 paediatric brain tumours, with a wide range of pathologies to identify microRNA profiles We analysed the microRNA profiles in paediatric brain tumours as compared to normal adult brain. Our cohort included 14 pilocytic astrocytomas, 3 diffuse astrocytomas, 2 anaplastic astrocytomas, 5 glioblastomas, 14 ependymomas, 9 medulloblastomas, 5 atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours, 4 choroid plexus papillomas, 1 papillary glioneuronal, and 7 adult brain controls.
Project description:Paediatric brain tumors are becoming well characterized due to large genomic and epigenomic studies. Metabolomics is a powerful analytical approach aiding in the characterization of tumors. This study shows that common cerebellar tumors have metabolite profiles sufficiently different to build accurate, robust diagnostic classifiers, and that the metabolite profiles can be used to assess differences in metabolism between the tumors. Tissue metabolite profiles were obtained from cerebellar ependymoma (n = 18), medulloblastoma (n = 36), pilocytic astrocytoma (n = 24) and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (n = 5) samples using HR-MAS. Quantified metabolites accurately discriminated the tumors; classification accuracies were 94% for ependymoma and medulloblastoma and 92% for pilocytic astrocytoma. Using current intraoperative examination the diagnostic accuracy was 72% for ependymoma, 90% for medulloblastoma and 89% for pilocytic astrocytoma. Elevated myo-inositol was characteristic of ependymoma whilst high taurine, phosphocholine and glycine distinguished medulloblastoma. Glutamine, hypotaurine and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) were increased in pilocytic astrocytoma. High lipids, phosphocholine and glutathione were important for separating ATRTs from medulloblastomas. This study demonstrates the ability of metabolic profiling by HR-MAS on small biopsy tissue samples to characterize these tumors. Analysis of tissue metabolite profiles has advantages in terms of minimal tissue pre-processing, short data acquisition time giving the potential to be used as part of a rapid diagnostic work-up.
Project description:Brain tumours have become the leading cause of child mortality from cancer. Indeed, aggressive brainstem tumours, such as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), are nearly uniformly fatal. These tumours display a unique set of driver mutations that distinguish them from adult gliomas and define new opportunity for the development of precision medicines. The specific association of ACVR1 mutations with DIPG tumours suggests a direct link to neurodevelopment and highlights the encoded bone morphogenetic protein receptor kinase ALK2 as a promising drug target. Beneficial effects of ALK2 inhibition have now been observed in two different in vivo models of DIPG. Nonetheless, such tumours present a huge challenge for traditional economic models of drug development due to their small market size, high failure rate, tumour location and paediatric population. Moreover, a toolkit of different investigational drugs may be needed to fully address the heterogeneity of these tumours in clinical trials. One new business model is suggested by M4K Pharma, a recent virtual start up that aims to align diffuse academic and industry research into a collaborative open science drug discovery programme. Fostering scientific collaboration may offer hope in rare conditions of dire unmet clinical need and provide an alternative route to affordable medicines.
Project description:Brain tumours are the most common solid tumour in children and the leading cause of cancer related death in children. Current treatments include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The need for aggressive treatment means many survivors are left with permanent severe disability, physical, intellectual and social. Recent progress in immunotherapy, including genetically engineered T cells with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for treating cancer, may provide new avenues to improved outcomes for patients with paediatric brain cancer. In this review we discuss advances in CAR T cell immunotherapy, the major CAR T cell targets that are in clinical and pre-clinical development with a focus on paediatric brain tumours, the paediatric brain tumour microenvironment and strategies used to improve CAR T cell therapy for paediatric tumours.
Project description:ObjectiveTo develop and assess a short-duration JPRESS protocol for detection of overlapping metabolite biomarkers and its application to paediatric brain tumours at 3 Tesla.Materials and methodsThe short-duration protocol (6 min) was optimised and compared for spectral quality to a high-resolution (38 min) JPRESS protocol in a phantom and five healthy volunteers. The 6-min JPRESS was acquired from four paediatric brain tumours and compared with short-TE PRESS.ResultsMetabolite identification between the 6- and 38-min protocols was comparable in phantom and volunteer data. For metabolites with Cramer-Rao lower bounds > 50%, interpretation of JPRESS increased confidence in assignment of lactate, myo-Inositol and scyllo-Inositol. JPRESS also showed promise for the detection of glycine and taurine in paediatric brain tumours when compared to short-TE MRS.ConclusionA 6-min JPRESS protocol is well tolerated in paediatric brain tumour patients. Visual inspection of a 6-min JPRESS spectrum enables identification of a range of metabolite biomarkers of clinical interest.