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New method for identifying most aggressive childhood cancers

Date:
January 28, 2015
Source:
Lund University
Summary:
A new way to identify the most malignant tumors in children has been identified by researchers. The method involves studying genetic ‘micro-variation’, rather than the presence of individual mutations.
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A research group at Lund University in Sweden has found a new way to identify the most malignant tumors in children. The method involves studying genetic 'micro-variation', rather than the presence of individual mutations.

In adult cancers, the tumor cells are more genetically variable than healthy cells. When a cancerous cell divides, the chromosomes often end up in the wrong place, or break and combine in incorrect ways. However, it has been unclear whether this is also the case in childhood cancers, and whether variability in the tumor DNA is linked to the severity of the cancer.

"We have now been able to confirm that both of these are the case. tumors in children are also genetically unstable, and the greater the variation between the cells, the more malignant the cancer," said David Gisselsson Nord, a researcher in clinical genetics at Lund University.

Dr Gisselsson Nord and his colleagues Linda Holmqvist Mengelbier and Jenny Karlsson have studied 44 cases of Wilms' tumor, the most common type of kidney cancer in children. All 44 patients had been treated with chemotherapy and most recovered, but a few developed metastases and died. The latter patients were those whose cancers demonstrated the greatest variation between cells.

The Lund researchers' study explains why for many forms of childhood cancer it has been difficult to predict which patients have the highest risk of the cancer reoccurrence. Despite much searching, very few markers have been found in childhood kidney cancer that can differentiate between aggressive and less dangerous cancers.

"The reason for this is that researchers have been looking for certain characteristics, such as mutations, in a single sample from each patient. However, when there is so much variation between the cells, one sample is not enough to determine the properties of the tumor," said Dr Gisselsson Nord.

Thankfully for patients, taking many samples from each tumor is not the only solution. The present study shows that it is sufficient to study 'micro-variation' (the degree of genetic variation between the cells) within a millimetre-sized sample. This type of genetic variation appears to form a foundation for the larger changes that in the long run cause the cancer to return and spread.

"The micro-variation is a much better predictor of the risk of metastasis and death than the presence of individual mutations. This is an entirely new way of assessing how dangerous a tumor is," explained David Gisselsson Nord.

The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers now hope to move on to a larger study of all new cases of kidney cancer in children in Europe over the next five years. If the results bear out, the degree of genetic variation in tumor cells could become the marker used to determine the strength of treatment required to save the child's life.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Lund University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Linda Holmquist Mengelbier, Jenny Karlsson, David Lindgren, Anders Valind, Henrik Lilljebjörn, Caroline Jansson, Daniel Bexell, Noémie Braekeveldt, Adam Ameur, Tord Jonson, Hanna Göransson Kultima, Anders Isaksson, Jurate Asmundsson, Rogier Versteeg, Marianne Rissler, Thoas Fioretos, Bengt Sandstedt, Anna Börjesson, Torbjörn Backman, Niklas Pal, Ingrid Øra, Markus Mayrhofer, David Gisselsson. Intratumoral genome diversity parallels progression and predicts outcome in pediatric cancer. Nature Communications, 2015; 6: 6125 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7125

Cite This Page:

Lund University. "New method for identifying most aggressive childhood cancers." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 January 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150128082007.htm>.
Lund University. (2015, January 28). New method for identifying most aggressive childhood cancers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150128082007.htm
Lund University. "New method for identifying most aggressive childhood cancers." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150128082007.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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