BioMed Central Blog

A transcription network at the core of brain cancer

Research published this week in Genome Medicine provides new insights into the molecular pathways underlying brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme). Sol Efroni and Rotem Ben-Hamo from Bar IIan University in Israel analyzed gene expression and clinical data for a large number of patients, with the aim of identifying prognostic biomarkers and new therapeutic targets.

Glioblastoma multiforme is a common, aggressive form of brain cancer associated with extremely low survival rates. The disease is usually fatal even following therapy, highlighting the need for early diagnosis and the development of more effective drug regimes. In this study, Efroni and Ben-Hamo applied a series of computational algorithms to five independent microarray datasets to identify gene expression networks that correlate with poor prognosis. As part of their analysis, data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and The National Cancer Institute’s Pathway Interaction Database (PID) were merged, representing a uniquely powerful “systems biology” approach to biomarker discovery.

This integrated approach revealed that the expression of one pathway, the p38/MAPK transcription network, significantly affiliates with poor survival. This network was shown to be regulated by a microRNA, hsa-miR-9, implicating another important biomarker for the disease. Interestingly, analysis of DrugBank data showed that patients who had received drugs targeting the p38/MAPK pathway displayed higher survival rates compared with patients who had been treated with other drugs. These results suggest that the p38/MAPK network is critical in glioblastoma multiforme progression and should form the focus of future clinical studies of the disease.

Posted by Paraminder Dhillon at 10:01    Comments (0)