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mckaylasmommy
Posts:19
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Posted:08/08/2008 8:56 AM |
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Here's an amazing newspaper article for all the families with ATRT.
U of C scientists grow disease in laboratory
Michelle Lang, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, August 07, 2008
Calgary scientists have discovered how to grow a rare childhood brain cancer outside of the human body, a finding researchers hope will help identify potential therapies for the deadly disease.
While the cancer is traditionally difficult to reproduce outside of the body, a University of Calgary team successfully grew atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumour cells -- or AT/RT -- in a petri dish with the help of brain fluid.
Experts said the research findings, published in the July 24 issue of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, are important because they offer scientists the opportunity to test drugs without putting a patient at risk.
"By growing them outside the body, (we can) study the biology more easily and see what agents are effective," said Dr. Aru Narendran, lead researcher on the study.
AT/RT is a rare cancer, affecting about 15 Canadian infants and children annually. The disease is aggressive and has a survival rate of only 10 per cent, according to the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta, which funded part of the study.
Researchers have previously grown AT/RT in a lab using cells taken from brain tumours. But Dr. Douglas Strother, director of the Alberta Children's Hospital cancer program, said this technique often didn't work and the cells died off easily.
In the Journal of Neuro-Oncology study, the University of Calgary team reported on a novel method they developed for growing the cells in a lab using brain and spinal fluid. Researchers said a natural hormone found in the fluid appears to stimulate the cancer cells to grow.
Strother said the new model is easier than performing brain surgery to extract cells from the tumour.
He said the Calgary research also offers a new way of testing drugs to treat a disease that doesn't currently have a standard therapy.
"The tumour is very aggressive in kids," said Strother, who worked on the study. "We need a place to study it outside kids and that's why this is really good."
Narendran and his team have already begun testing potential therapies on cells grown in the brain fluid. One drug, AEW-541, is showing promise and seems to stop the growth of cells.
Narendran said the research is still years away from creating a new treatment for children with the disease.
But Christine Wandzura, founder and chief executive officer of the Kids Cancer Care Foundation, said the study's findings offer hope for young patients with AT/RT.
"When it's your child, it's not a rare tumour, it's a real thing," said Wandzura, whose son died of a brain tumour in 1991.
"At this point, there hasn't been a lot of success with the drugs they are using."
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Kelly
Posts:22
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Posted:08/10/2008 6:35 AM |
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I was just messing around on YouTube and found this posting about AT/RT. It sounds like the scientists are making some progress. Here is the link if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN5ZErJPxsg
~Kelly
(Jackson's mom)
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