College of Medicine

IPRD funded research by Jerome Irianto

Pediatric glioblastoma: Brain tumors are the second most common form of cancer in children, and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive types of brain tumors. GBM occurs in 3-15% of pediatric patients and the 5-year survival rate is less than 20%. GBM cells are highly invasive and can escape surgical resection, which leads to relapse. The crucial role of tumor cell-synthesized type I collagen in GBM growth and invasion has been recently elucidated, suggesting it as a novel therapeutic target to treat GBM. This research project examines the potential for developing a novel inhibitor of type 1 collagen synthesis as an antitumor drug for the treatment of pediatric GBM.

 

Resources

• American Brain Tumor Association
• British Children’s Hospital
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation

IPRD-funded research team led by Jerome Irianto, Ph.D., at the FSU College of Medicine, along with Gengqiang Xie, Research Faculty I, and Ph.D. candidates Hyeje Sumajit, Chaity Modak, and Olalekan H. Usman, and Research Assistant Pamela Sandoval Sanchez share groundbreaking updates on their work with pediatric glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer with a survival rate under 20%. Through collaboration with Branko Stefanovic, Ph.D., the team has discovered a small molecule drug that shows promise in suppressing glioblastoma invasion.