{"id":29828,"date":"2020-01-09T12:02:41","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T01:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utter-drop.flywheelsites.com\/?post_type=hdsn_news_post&p=29828"},"modified":"2025-01-14T13:46:50","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T02:46:50","slug":"shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours","status":"publish","type":"hdsn_news_post","link":"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours\/","title":{"rendered":"Shedding light on the male bias in childhood brain tumours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hudson Institute researchers discover why the most common form of childhood brain cancer<\/a> is seen in boys more than girls, and identify a potential biomarker for less aggressive treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Dr<\/a>
L\u2013R: Dr Daniel Gough, Dr Christine White<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common brain tumour in children, accounting for 20 percent of all childhood brain tumours. It affects the cerebellum\u2014the area at the back and bottom of the brain\u2014yet the tumours can often spread to other parts of the brain and to the spinal cord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MB most frequently occurs between the ages of three and eight, and develops more commonly in boys than girls (a ratio of roughly 1.5 to 1)\u2014a feature that is well-recognised, yet poorly understood. Boys are not only more likely to develop MB, but are also less likely to survive, in comparison to girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discovering the reason behind this difference could open up the possibility of targeted or less aggressive treatments, and this formed the basis of a study published in Cancers<\/em><\/a>, led by Hudson Institute researchers Dr Daniel Gough<\/a> and Dr Christine White<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of STAT3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The researchers investigated the role of STAT3 in MB\u2014a protein which is over-expressed in the majority of adult cancers. Despite its well-known involvement in these cancers, little is known about its role in MB. The team used both pre-clinical models and previous patient data to determine whether the protein played any part in the condition\u2019s male bias, or sexual dimorphism.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Histological<\/a>
Histological analysis showing normal cerebellum and the extensive destruction caused by medulloblastoma<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n

\u201cThe results from our study suggest that STAT3 could be used as a biomarker to predict patients with good prognosis who would benefit from less aggressive treatment regimens, or that inhibiting STAT3 itself will be an effective new targeted therapy for the treatment of medulloblastoma\u201d said Dr Gough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Targeting STAT3 in pre-clinical models completely protected males from developing a tumour\u2014but intriguingly, not females. In addition, in analysis of existing patient data, it was found that individuals with low STAT3 expression had an improved survival rate in comparison to those with high STAT3 expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team also discovered that interleukin-6 (IL-6)\u2014a potent activator of STAT3\u2014is expressed more in males than in females\u2014 and acts to increase the transcription of genes associated with MB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do these results suggest an explanation for the male bias seen in MB, they also indicate that targeting STAT3 will significantly benefit male patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New hope for treatment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Currently, treatment begins with surgery (to remove as much of the tumour as possible), followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This treatment approach has improved overall survival to nearly 80 percent, however such aggressive therapy on a young child\u2019s growing brain can have lifelong consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of MB survivors aren\u2019t able to finish regular primary school due to very severe neurological, cognitive and developmental side effects, with more than 90 percent need long-term special education services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less aggressive treatment for low risk patients with low STAT3 expression\u2014or ideally in the future, a STAT3-targeted therapy for all male MB patients\u2014would mean fewer side effects and a greater quality of life for these children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These exciting insights will feed into the Hudson Monash Paediatric Precision Medicine Program<\/a>\u2014a research initiative established with investment from the Children\u2019s Cancer Foundation<\/a>. The initiative focuses on developing targeted treatments and improving clinical outcomes, survival rates and quality of life for childhood cancer patients, particularly those with brain cancer and solid tumours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Collaborators | <\/strong>Jason Cain, Hudson Institute of Medical Research; Neil Watkins, Cancer Care Manitoba; Marc Remke and Daniel Picard, German Cancer Research Center<\/p>\n

Funders | <\/strong>Victorian Cancer Agency, NHMRC Career Development, Children\u2019s Cancer Foundation<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n\n

<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hudson Institute researchers discover why the most common form of childhood brain cancer is seen in boys more than girls, and identify a potential biomarker for less aggressive treatment.…  Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":29929,"menu_order":0,"template":"","issue":[],"tag":[],"story-type":[85],"treatment-type":[],"class_list":["post-29828","hdsn_news_post","type-hdsn_news_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","story-type-discovery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShedding light on the male bias in childhood brain tumours - Hudson Institute of Medical Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hudson Institute researchers discover why the most common form of childhood brain tumours is seen in boys more than girls.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shedding light on the male bias in childhood brain tumours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hudson Institute researchers discover why the most common form of childhood brain tumours is seen in boys more than girls.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/news\/shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hudson Institute of Medical Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-14T02:46:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hudson.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Dan-Gough-and-Christine-White-scaled-e1644533097556.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1708\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1708\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hudson.org.au\\\/news\\\/shedding-light-on-the-male-bias-in-childhood-brain-tumours\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shedding light on the male bias in childhood brain tumours - 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