August 06, 2008

Discovery could lead to non-chemotherapy treatment for kidney cancer affecting children

Grand Rapids, MI (August 6, 2008) –   A recent finding by Van Andel Institute (VAI) researchers could have prognostic value and eventually lead to a new non-chemotherapy treatment for Wilms’ tumor, the most common type of kidney cancer that affects children.  The finding resulted from collaboration between the Laboratory of Cancer Genetics at VAI, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, the Gerber Foundation, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University. 

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University provided Wilms’ tumor tissue samples to VAI researchers, who found that a protein called E2F3 was activated in all of the samples and that this was specific to Wilms’ tumors, not just kidney tumors in general.  These tumors also had abnormally high levels of a particular type of small regulatory RNA molecules, or "microRNAs".  The relationship between E2F3 and these microRNAs had been observed previously in laboratory models but never before in human tumors.

“We found that expression of E2F3 was lowest in early-stage tumors and highest in metastatic tissue,” said Eric Kort, M.D., Clinical Research Fellow at VAI and lead author of the article that presented the findings in the journal Cancer Research.  “Since tumors are currently classified simply as either favorable or unfavorable depending only on what they look like under the microscope, this could definitely have prognostic value.” 

The finding could also prove to have therapeutic value. “By identifying the role of microRNAs in Wilms’ tumor and other childhood tumors, we can explore how we can use drugs to target tumor cells based on their expression of these microRNA’s,” said VAI Distinguished Scientific Investigator Bin Tean Teh, M.D., Ph.D., who heads the Laboratory of Cancer Genetics.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 90% of kidney tumors that occur in children are Wilms’ tumors.  Wilms' tumor occurs most often in the first 5 years of life, usually around ages 3 and 4.  Between 400 and 500 new cases of Wilms' tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States.

“VAI researchers have found a significant piece of new information that will improve the treatment of patients with Wilms' tumor and may lead us to a new non-chemotherapy tumor specific treatment for these patients in the years to come,” said Albert S. Cornelius, M.D., a physician at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.  “The collaboration between Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and VAI is an excellent example of the type of cooperation that is necessary to make advances in cancer knowledge and treatment in the modern era.” 

The study was funded in part by the Gerber Foundation.  The Gerber Foundation funds projects aimed at improving prenatal care and the prevention and treatment of early childhood diseases.  “Treating childhood illnesses early and reducing or eliminating serious side effects of therapies or disease are an important part or our goal to enhance the lives of children,” said Catherine Obits, Program Manager for the Gerber Foundation.  “With these VAI findings, the ability to specifically target this tumor and treat it early could significantly reduce the stress involved with lengthy treatment regimens for these children and their families.”

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Established by Jay and Betty Van Andel  in 1996, Van Andel Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to preserving, enhancing and expanding the frontiers of medical science, and to achieving excellence in education by probing fundamental issues of education and the learning process.