Canadian researchers have developed an effective new technique for identifying aggressive medulloblastoma—the most common type of malignant brain tumour in children—and potentially sparing young patients from unnecessary treatments and their harmful long-term side effects.
The technique, spearheaded by researchers from UBC’s department of pathology and laboratory medicine, BC Cancer and BC Children’s Hospital, can help doctors tailor treatments to individual patients and ensure high-risk cases receive the intensive therapy they need.
“This test will allow hospitals around the world to identify high-risk cases without requiring expensive or complex technology. More children will receive the right treatment based on their tumour type,” said Dr. Alberto Delaidelli, the study’s first author and a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of UBC professor Dr. Poul Sorensen, distinguished scientist at BC Cancer and investigator with the Michael Cuccione Childhood Cancer Research Program at BC Children’s Hospital.
