Crucially, 'EZH2 inhibitor' drugs have already received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of two types of adult cancer.
He said: 'We've taken a huge step forward in our study of DMG tumours and hope that the insights will help us design and implement precision oncology-based treatment approaches in DMG patients in the future.
These drugs target the same key biological pathway involved in DMG as they do successfully in lymphomas and sarcomas - two cancers common in adults.Īdrian Bracken, Professor in Trinity's School of Genetics and Microbiology, led the exciting research. The scientists now call for clinical trials to begin imminently, in which an already approved class of drugs called 'EZH2 inhibitors' can be assessed. Their landmark work - just published in leading international journal, Nature Genetics and supported by Worldwide Cancer Research and The Brain Tumour Charity - translates crucial new understanding of the genetics of DMG progression into a highly promising, targeted therapeutic approach and offers significant hope of improved treatments in the future.
