Researchers Engineer Stem Cells to Ascertain Potential Pediatric Brain Tumor Treatments

Researchers led by a team from Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center created a model of medulloblastoma using engineered neural stem cells in mice, and then used a computer algorithm to match the disease with possible treatments.

The algorithm identified Ibrance (palbociclib), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, which extended survival in mice implanted with the engineered medulloblastoma cells by 50 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute. The results were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Based on this study and others, the NCI-supported Children’s Oncology Group is exploring including a CDK inhibitor in a clinical trial currently being planned for patients with relapsed medulloblastoma.