Oncotarget | WNT-pathway medulloblastoma: What constitutes low-risk and how low can one go?
2023-02-27
(Press-News.org) “The definition of low-risk WNT-pathway medulloblastoma may need to be refined in light of recent clinical data and newer biological information.”
BUFFALO, NY- February 27, 2023 – A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on February 7, 2023, entitled, “WNT-pathway medulloblastoma: what constitutes low-risk and how low can one go?”
Novel biological insights have established that medulloblastoma is a heterogenous disease comprising four broad molecular subgroups - WNT, SHH, Group 3, and Group 4 respectively, resulting in the incorporation of molecular/genetic information in 5th edition of WHO classification and contemporary risk-stratification. Concerns regarding therapy-related late toxicity in long-term survivors have led to systematic attempts at treatment de-intensification in good-risk medulloblastoma.
Given the excellent survival (>90%) of WNT-pathway medulloblastoma, prospective clinical trials have focused on optimization of therapy to balance survival versus quality of survival. The currently accepted definition of low-risk WNT-pathway medulloblastoma includes children <16 years of age with residual tumour <1.5 cm2 and no evidence of metastases. This systematically excludes adolescents and young adults who have been perceived to have worse outcomes.
In a previous study, researchers Shakthivel Mani, Abhishek Chatterjee, Archya Dasgupta, Neelam Shirsat, Sridhar Epari, Girish Chinnaswamy, and Tejpal Gupta from Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI) in Mumbai, India, reported long-term survival of an adolescent and young adult cohort that was largely comparable to childhood medulloblastoma. In their current research perspective, the researchers now report on molecularly characterized WNT-subgroup patients treated between 2004–2020 with risk-stratified multi-modality therapy to identify differences between childhood (<15 years) versus adolescent and young adults (>15 years).
Despite modest differences in disease status at presentation and treatment modality, there were no significant differences in patterns of failure or survival between childhood versus adolescent and young adult WNT-pathway medulloblastoma. Two de-intensification trials in low-risk WNT-pathway medulloblastoma – first testing omission of upfront craniospinal irradiation and second a primary chemotherapy approach after surgery – had to be terminated prematurely due to unacceptably high relapse rates suggesting that craniospinal irradiation remains an integral component of treatment. The presence of TP53 mutations and OTX2 gains have recently been reported as independent negative prognostic factors in a multi-institutional cohort of WNT-pathway medulloblastoma, raising questions on eligibility of such patients for de-escalation trials.
“Concerns regarding therapy-related late toxicity have prompted systematic attempts at treatment de-intensification in good-risk MB over the last four decades. However, results of prior studies should be used to inform and guide controlled de-intensification of therapy even in low-risk and favourable biology disease. The definition of low-risk WNT-MB may need to be further refined in light of recent clinical data and newer biological information.”
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28360
Correspondence to: Tejpal Gupta
Email: tejpalgupta@rediffmail.com
Keywords: de-intensification, medulloblastoma, molecular, survival, toxicity
About Oncotarget: Oncotarget (a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal) aims to maximize research impact through insightful peer-review; eliminate borders between specialties by linking different fields of oncology, cancer research and biomedical sciences; and foster application of basic and clinical science.
To learn more about Oncotarget, visit Oncotarget.com and connect with us on social media:
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
LabTube
Soundcloud
For media inquiries, please contact: media@impactjournals.com.
Oncotarget Journal Office
6666 East Quaker Str., Suite 1A
Orchard Park, NY 14127
Phone: 1-800-922-0957 (option 2)
###
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2023-02-27
Researchers may be able to predict cardiovascular disease – such as arterial fibrillation and heart failure – in patients by using artificial intelligence (AI) to examine the genes in their DNA, according to a new Rutgers study.
“With the successful execution of our model, we predicted the association of highly significant cardiovascular disease genes tied to demographic variables like race, gender and age.” said Zeeshan Ahmed, a core faculty member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging ...
2023-02-27
ITHACA, N.Y. – To encourage more active lifestyles, public health agencies recommend mixed-use neighborhoods and “complete” streets that are friendlier to walkers and bikers, but new Cornell University research finds that while those strategies increase physical activity, an urban bias limits their applicability in many parts of the country.
Planners in suburban and rural communities should focus more on promoting recreational programs, expanding transportation options and creating safer environments to help an aging population get more exercise, according to the researchers’ analysis of more than 1,300 U.S. counties and cities.
“These ...
2023-02-27
By returning to spawn in the Sacramento River at different ages, Chinook salmon lessen the potential impact of a bad year and increase the stability of their population in the face of climate variability, according to a new study by scientists at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries.
Unfortunately, spawning Chinook salmon are increasingly younger and concentrated within fewer age groups, with the oldest age classes of spawners rarely seen in recent years. The new study, published February 27 in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, suggests changes in hatchery practices and fishery management ...
2023-02-27
Yasemin Ipek, Assistant Professor, Global Affairs Program, received funding to write a book on diverse meanings and implications of being an activist in Lebanon.
The book, titled: "Crisiswork: Activism, Class-Making, and Bounded Futures in Lebanon," will be a study of the emergent forms of activism and political subjectivity in contemporary Lebanon in relation to lived experiences of crisis.
Ipek aims to answer the question: "How has the recent mobilization of civil society activism shaped politics and everyday life in Lebanon?"
She intends to answer that question by ethnographically studying activism as a contentious ...
2023-02-27
Cynthia Lum, Professor and Director, Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP), Criminology, Law and Society, and Christopher Koper, Associate Professor, Criminology, Law and Society, received funding for: "Application of Evidence-Based Policing to Investigations in the Seattle Police Department."
The purpose of this contract is to provide the Seattle Police Department with an evidence-based assessment of its investigations practices and to make recommendations on improving the alignment of the agency with evidence-based approaches in this area.
Lum and Koper received $121,363 from ...
2023-02-27
Recently, a team led by Prof. LU Junling collaborating with Prof. LI Weixue’s and Prof. WEI Shiqiang’s team, revealed the conjugated dual size effect of core-shell bimetallic nanocatalysts for the first time, with the activity of the catalysts increases with the core size in the benzyl alcohol oxidation reaction. Their work was published in Nature Communications.
Bimetallic catalysts are widely used in different chemical synthesis for their bimetallic synergy varying with compositions and structures. Compared to alloy catalysts, the peculiar lattice ...
2023-02-27
Babies born preterm decreased and stillborn rates remained unchanged during the first four months of COVID-19 lockdowns, according to a largescale international study.
The research of 52 million births from 26 countries, published in Nature Human Behavior, reported a 3-4 per cent reduction overall in preterm births, averting almost 50,000 preterm pregnancies during the first month of lockdown alone. But the decrease in preterm births was limited to only high-income countries including Australia.
The International Perinatal Outcomes in the Pandemic (iPOP) Study, ...
2023-02-27
The number of specialized immune cells available for fighting skin cancer doubled when a new treatment blocked their escape from melanoma tumors, experiments in mice and human cells show.
Researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center who led the study found that combining a chemical blocker of immune cell exit with another drug type, an immunotherapy, stopped melanoma tumor enlargement in more than half of mice tested. Immunotherapy alone had previously failed to prevent the cancers’ growth.
Recent advances in immunotherapies, medications designed to help the body’s immune defense system ...
2023-02-27
Researchers have discovered that channeling ions into defined pathways in perovskite materials improves the stability and operational performance of perovskite solar cells. The finding paves the way for a new generation of lighter, more flexible, and more efficient solar cell technologies suitable for practical use.
Perovskite materials, which are defined by their crystalline structure, are better at absorbing light than silicon is. That means that perovskite solar cells can be thinner and lighter than silicon solar cells without sacrificing the cell’s ...
2023-02-27
Monday, February 27, 2023, Cleveland: New Cleveland Clinic research showed that erythritol, a popular artificial sweetener, is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Findings were published today in Nature Medicine.
Researchers studied over 4,000 people in the U.S. and Europe and found those with higher blood erythritol levels were at elevated risk of experiencing a major adverse cardiac event such as heart attack, stroke or death. They also examined the effects of adding erythritol to either whole blood or isolated platelets, which are cell fragments that clump together to stop bleeding and contribute to blood clots. Results revealed that ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Oncotarget | WNT-pathway medulloblastoma: What constitutes low-risk and how low can one go?
