A team from the University of Michigan have published finding in the June 2 edition of Cancer Cell which indicate that
Glioblastoma, the type of cancer that afflicts U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and is diagnosed in about 10,000 Americans each year, may originate in neural stem cells located in a brain region known as the subventricular zone, or SVZ. In mice, neural stem cells that normally live in this niche give rise to more specialized nerve cells that migrate out of the niche. Cancer could begin with a single genetic mutation in the p53 gene, which makes stem cells migrate out of the niche like their specialized progenies.
For an article summarising the findings click here.
The article includes the following quote "The link between neural stem cells and this aggressive type of cancer is a warning sign for scientists to proceed carefully with new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, where the hope is to use neural stem cells to help regenerate lost nerve function"
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