Achilles' heel of aggressive brain cancer found

Inhibiting the function of a gene may lead to the death of the most prevalent and lethal type of brain tumour in adults, according to a study.

With no curative treatment currently available, glioblastomas cannot be surgically completely excised, as the tumour cells are adept at invading tissues and spreading around the brain.

In addition, glioblastoma cells are extremely resistant to existing drug therapies, said researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland.

For a long time, researchers have been looking for weaknesses in glioblastoma cells which could be targeted with efficacious therapies.

They have already earlier found that the expression of a small fatty acid-binding protein (MDGI, or FABP3) in glioblastoma cells increases their ability to invade tissues and is linked with a poorer prognosis for the patient.

"Our new research revealed that glioblastoma cells depend on the expression of a gene which produces the MDGI protein," said Professor Pirjo Laakkonen from the ...