Sci Adv: New research helps treat childhood neurocancer

February 8, 2021 /--- -- Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and Princess Massima Paediatric Oncology Center have found that all neuroblastomas come from embryonic cells called cross-sensory neuroblasts.
study, published in the journal Science Advance, sought to understand the underlying causes of the severity of neuroblastoma.
fact that all neuroblastomas come from cross-sensory neuroblasts makes them attractive drug targets.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) neuroblastoma is a rare form of cancer that usually affects children under the age of five.
is that the severity of neuroblastoma can vary greatly from individual to individual.
survival rate of neuroblastoma is one of the lowest of all childhood cancers.
researchers speculated whether differences in the severity of neuroblastoma could be caused by different cell types at different stages of a child's development in the womb.
the emergence of single-cell mRNA sequencing makes it possible to verify this hypothesis.
In the study, the researchers analyzed the gene expression of 19,723 cancer cells and compared them with references to 57,972 developing adrenal cells in order to identify the types of cells produced by neuroblastoma and find new therapeutic targets.
, many cancer treatments have serious side effects on patients.
But in recent years, technological advances have allowed researchers to identify differences in biological processes within healthy human cells and cancer cells, such as the expression of specific genes, that can be used to attack cancer cells without affecting the patient's healthy cells.
Dr Karin Straathof, senior author of the study, said: "Neuroblastoma is an unusual cancer because some tumours can subside without intervention, but the disease remains the lowest survival rate in five years for all children.
this study fills an important gap in our understanding of neuroblastoma cells and reveals new therapeutic targets that I hope will lead to the development of new, less invasive therapies by targeting cross-sensory neuroblastocytes.
" (Bioon.com) Source: New drug targets for childhood cancer neuroblastomaed original source: "Tumor to normal single-cell mRNA comparisons reveal a pan-neuroblastoma cancer cell" Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd3311