BET inhibitors could result in better survival for aggressive pediatric brain tumor patients

A team from Northwestern University (IL, USA) has reported that a molecule is capable of halting the growth of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a highly aggressive brainstem tumor. DIPG affects approximately 300 children a year in the USA, and is always fatal. Median age at diagnosis is 6–7 years, and median survival is 9 months. Radiation therapy results in limited improvement in survival. Previous work has shown that over 80% of DIPGs express a histone mutant, H3K27M. This mutation is accompanied by a reduction in H3K27me3, which is PRC2-mediated; this is believed to be a driving event in DIPG...