S’pore scientists discover potential drug for brain cancer

SINGAPORE: Scientists in Singapore have identified a biomarker of the most lethal form of brain tumours in adults called glioblastoma multiforme.

This discovery could potentially prevent the progression and relapse of brain tumours.

The biomarker is called miR—138 and is found in cancer stem cells.

A*STAR scientists found that when they depleted the biomarker with a potential drug, the cancer cells were completely destroyed.

A*STAR said this is an important breakthrough as current therapies such as gamma radiation and surgical methods proved to be inadequate in treating these brain tumours, which tend to re—grow from cancer stem cells and become extremely lethal.

Chief Scientist at A*STAR, Prof Sir David Lane, added: "These findings will facilitate the translation of basic research into clinical applications such as targeted drug design to treat brain cancer."

This research was conducted by scientists at A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology in collaboration with A*STAR’s Bioinformatics Institute (BII), and clinical collaborators from Medical University of Graz, Austria, and National University of Singapore.

The research findings were published last month in the scientific journal, Cell Reports from Cell Press.

— CNA/xq