Could targeting a virus treat a common pediatric brain tumor?

Söderberg-Nauclér, Johnsen, and colleagues found that a large proportion of primary medulloblastomas and medulloblastoma cell lines are infected with a virus known as human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Furthermore, the majority of primary medulloblastomas expressed HCMV proteins. Importantly, the antiviral drug valganciclovir reduced human medulloblastoma tumor cell growth both in vitro and upon xenotransplantation in mice. Targeting a protein (COX-2) in the cancer cells, expression of which was found to be induced by the HCMV, had similar in vitro and in vivo effects. The authors therefore suggest that targeting HCMV and/or COX-2 could provide a new therapeutic approach to treating individuals with medulloblastoma.

In an accompanying commentary, Cynthia Hawkins and Sidney Croul, discuss in detail the concept that it could be possible to exploit the presence of HCMV to target medulloblastomas therapeutically. They also note that this approach might be applicable to other brain tumors, as several viruses have been linked to a range of brain tumors, including medulloblastomas, gliomas, and choroid plexus papillomas.