Can mouse models for brain tumors inform treatment in pediatric patients?
Brain tumors represent the most common solid tumor of childhood. Although the histology of many pediatric brain tumors is similar to that of their adult counterparts, significant differences exist with regard to tumor location and response to therapy. The biological and genetic basis for this difference is poorly understood, as tumor tissue is generally unavailable for such studies. While targeted therapies directed against specific molecules active in cancer represents a new arsenal of agents for treating these tumors, such agents are generally not being developed for pediatric cancer in particular. Therefore, new agents for treatment of pediatric glioma must be obtained from compounds being tested against tumors of comparable histology in adult patients. Compounding this problem, although brain tumors are among the most lethal tumors of childhood, their absolute number is relatively small. As a consequence, trials with new agents must be prioritized based on the likelihood that a particular agent or combination of agents will have efficacy in pediatric cancer. Mouse models for brain tumors may help to identify targeted agents, and combinations of agents, effective against these tumors. Such data can be used to prioritize therapies for clinical trials in children with these tumors.
Weiss
William A
WA
Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. weiss@cgl.ucsf.edu
Banerjee
Anu
A
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction