DCU research could lead to longer term survival for some brain tumour patients
Tuesday 17 July 2007

NICB building

DCU research on brain tumours that has received new funding from Cancer Research Ireland could reduce the rate of growth of the cancers and their capacity to spread – giving a specific group of patients the chance of longer- term survival.

Dr Verena Amberger-Murphy, an expert in brain tumour research who formerly worked in Canada and Switzerland, is leading the project at DCU’s National Institute of Cellular Biotechnology and it is being carried out in partnership with Beaumont Hospital.

The team is examining Glioma brain tumour samples donated by patients attending Beaumont Hospital, so that they can identify factors to help profile which brain tumours might respond to a new group of targeted drugs called Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) and which will not. Ultimately this will enable brain surgeons and medical oncologists treating patients with brain tumours to reach a specific molecular diagnosis and decide on a tailored treatment plan for each patient.

Glioma tumours – the most common type of brain tumour - often defeat traditional treatments like surgery because they grow rapidly and spread to healthy brain tissue.

The DCU team is focusing particularly on treatments for a subgroup of these gliomas – the astrocytic tumours.

Dr Verena Amberger- Murphy said “Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors have already been used in Clinical Trials to treat brain tumours and have shown potential benefit in a subgroup (20%) of patients. However we now need to study brain tumour samples in the laboratory at the molecular level using a specific process to identify which tumours respond to these drugs”.

In the clinical setting this research could ultimately lead to ways to reduce the rate of growth of the brain tumours and their capacity to infiltrate into surrounding brain tissue.

Commenting on this research, Dr. Patrick Corley, Cancer Research Officer with the Irish Cancer Society said “This is a really exciting project and the findings could mean a totally new way to specifically diagnose and tailor treatment for certain brain tumours and could mean longer term survival for these specific subset of patients.”

CRI, the research division of the The Irish Cancer Society is contributing €197,000 to this research.

The latest data from the National Cancer Registry states there were 316 new cases of primary brain tumours diagnosed in 2002 and there are on average 213 deaths from brain tumours every year. The different types of brain tumours are usually named after the type of brain cells from which they have developed. More than half of all brain tumours develop from the supporting cells of the brain known as the glial cells and are known as gliomas. Despite major improvements in the surgical treatment of gliomas, the overall prognosis for invasive tumours is poor because they are extremely resistant to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) are known as targeted therapies. Examples of TKI’s are Gleevec (imitinib) and Tarceva (erlontinib). Gleevac is currently indicated for the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and Gastronintestinal tumours and Tarceva is currently indicated for the treatment of lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.

This research is being funded by Cancer Research Ireland (CRI), the research division of the Irish Cancer Society. CRI is the largest single voluntary funder of cancer research in Ireland and in 2007 is investing €2.4 million Euro in hospitals and universities throughout Ireland.