How can we stop childhood brain tumours being so aggressive?
Co-funded with:
The Brain Tumour Charity
Cancer types:
Brain cancer
Childhood cancer
Project period:
–
Research institute:
Institute of Biomedical Research "Alberto Sols" CSIC-UAM
Award amount:
£200,275
Location:
Spain
Dr Maria Alieva and her team in Spain, along with colleagues in the Netherlands, are investigating how a type of childhood brain tumour called diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) starts and spreads. By better understanding how the tumour environment influences cancer development she hopes to find clues towards vital new cures.
Why is this research needed?
Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) are a rare but particularly aggressive type of childhood brain tumour that spread fast and currently have no cure. We urgently need to understand more about how these tumours develop so that in the future better treatments are available to help children with DMG.
Research suggests that the area of the brain where DMGs start, called the pontine region, plays a big role in driving how these tumours progress, but the specifics about which components of this region are involved, and how the tumours are caused, remain a mystery. Dr Alieva hopes to answer these questions about the development of DMG so that new treatments can be developed for this devastating disease.
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What is the science behind this project?
Your brainstem connects your brain to your spinal cord, allowing messages to flow from your brain to the rest of your body and back again. The biggest part of the brainstem is called the pontine region and this is where diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) originate. Dr Alieva will investigate the pontine region and explore how cells here influence these tumours developing.
Dr Alieva has assembled an incredible interdisciplinary team of experts in imaging, DMG models, and computational analysis and together they will learn how the environment in the pontine region causes DMGs to be especially invasive. The team will use advanced imaging techniques to track the movement of tumour cells and use small lab-grown versions of DMGs to visualize the cells surrounding the tumours in the pontine and other brain regions.
All thanks to you, they will gain more in-depth knowledge than ever before about how DMGs progress.
What difference could this project make to patients in the future?
The more we understand about how DMG starts and spreads, the better we can advance new ways to stop it. The average survival for DMG patients is currently less than one year, so Dr Alieva hopes to make breakthroughs towards new treatments that will improve outcomes and ensure fewer lives are cut short.
What does it mean that this project is co-funded?
Our vision of seeing a day when no life is cut short by cancer is shared by many organisations, both in the UK and around the world. To maximise our impact and bring forward more new breakthroughs we are always looking to work with other cancer research funders. Working together helps us to advance research quickly and support the best ideas. We are pleased to be partnering with The Brain Tumour Charity on this project.
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