New study identifies first gene associated with familial glioma

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Dec-2014

Contact: Glenna Picton picton@bcm.edu 713-798-7973 Baylor College of Medicine @bcmhouston

HOUSTON - (Dec. 7, 2014) - An international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine has identified for the first time a gene associated with familial glioma (brain tumors that appear in two or more members of the same family) providing new support that certain people may be genetically predisposed to the disease.

"It is widely thought amongst the clinical community that there is no association between family history and development of glioma. Because we know very little about the contributing genetic factors, when cases occur in two or more family members, it is viewed as coincidental," said Dr. Melissa Bondy, associate director of cancer prevention and population sciences at the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine and lead author of the report that appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute today. "By understanding more about the genetic link, we hope that one day we can improve treatments and preventive strategies for those with a family history of glioma."

Bondy estimates that approximately five percent of brain tumors run in families.

The study was conducted through the Gliogene Consortium, a collaborative group of familial brain tumor researchers from around the world, which is primarily supported with funding from the National Cancer Institute.

"I have been researching familial glioma for nearly 30 years, and this study is really the first time we have had a hit when it comes to identifying a gene that is potentially associated with predisposition to the disease," said Bondy, principal investigator of the Gliogene Consortium.

The Gliogene Consortium recruited 435 families in which glioma occurred from 14 centers in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, The United Kingdom and Israel. The recruitment occurred between 2007 and 2011 while Bondy was on faculty at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She joined the Baylor faculty in September 2011.

Once at Baylor, Bondy collaborated with experts in the College's Human Genome Sequencing Center to advance research of the genetics of the disease.

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New study identifies first gene associated with familial glioma