Major breakthrough in brain cancer
A team of Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont researchers, lead by Dr. Gilbert Bernier, has made a major breakthrough in understanding brain tumor resistance mechanisms to radiation therapy. Their findings were published in the latest edition of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and the most deadly brain tumor in adults: average life expectancy following a diagnosis is 9 months. Radiation therapy is currently offered only as a palliative measure as this type of cancer cell is resistant to treatment. Dr. Gilbert Bernier’s team of researchers has recently succeeded in lifting the veil on the reasons for this resistance.
The BMI1 Gene
In their previous work, this same team discovered that the BMI1 gene is a direct regulator of cell aging in brain neurons through its action on the defense mechanisms against free radicals. This action, although useful against aging in healthy neural cells, is a deterrent to the destruction of GBM cancer cells.
According to the article published in The Journal of Neuroscience, the research team’s most recent studies suggest that the BMI1 gene plays a key role in the resistance of neural stem cells to radiation therapy. “When a malignant cell is damaged, in this case by radiation therapy, the BMI1 gene facilitates and accelerates DNA repair”, explains Dr. Gilbert Bernier.
A New Therapeutic Target
This discovery opens the door to new treatment options. The BMI1 gene now represents an excellent therapeutic target for the treatment of GBM.
About this Study
The article entitled “Neurobiology of Disease: BMI1 Confers Radioresistance to Normal and Cancerous Neural Stem Cells Through Recruitment of the DNA Damage Response Machinery”, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, is the culmination of Dr. Gilbert Bernier’s work in collaboration with Sabrina Facchino, Mohamed Abdouh and Wassim Chatoo from Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, affiliated with Université de Montréal.