Tuesday, November 10, 2020 11am to 12pm
About this Event
Nhan L. Tran, PhD
Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, Neurological Surgery, and Radiation Oncology
College of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
“Genetics of Invasive Glioblastoma Cells”
Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common adult brain cancer, is among the most genetically heterogeneous,
treatment resistant, and lethal of all human cancers. Despite the genetic heterogeneity, a unifying
characteristic of GBM is aggressive cell invasion into the brain parenchyma, which prevents complete surgical removal, increases the risk profile of adjuvant therapies, and virtually assures tumor recurrence. Recurrent
GBM tumors are generally less sensitive to therapy than the original tumor and in most cases are located in
critical brain areas, preventing a second surgical resection. Most GBM molecular studies to date focus on
primary, newly diagnosed tumors, and as a consequence our knowledge of recurrent GBM biology is limited. It
is clear however, that primary and recurrent GBM are in some ways distinct diseases, with the latter tumors reflecting selective pressures exerted by the standard-of-care adjuvant treatment paradigm for primary GBM
tumor treatment (radiation and temozolomide (TMZ). Paradoxically, even though the biology of recurrent GBM
is not fully understood, most of the clinical trials testing new GBM therapeutic agents are in the setting of recurrence. Thus, additional studies focused on recurrent tumors are necessary in order to generate more
molecular information on these tumors and to aid in the development of new therapies that
target these aggressive cells. Accordingly, we have conducted comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic
analyses of patient-matched primary and recurrent GBM patient tumor core specimens with the goal of
identifying new therapeutic targets for recurrent disease. These initial studies have identified the important
signaling node(s) in recurrent GBM and thus a potential vulnerability for targeted agents.
This program is open to all eligible individuals. USC operates all of its programs and activities consistent with the university’s Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other prohibited factor.
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