Dr . Wu , Dr . Fonkem , and Dr . Wang are primary investigators in the familial glioblastoma study .
tumor , usually they have a very poor quality of life ,” says Fengfei Wang , PhD , a research associate and specialist in data analysis at the institute . “ That is why we need to improve the technologies and the treatment .” Dr . Fonkem says the past 20 years have brought new treatments and great hope to patients with breast , prostate , skin and other types of cancer . “ But unfortunately we ’ ve not made nearly as much progress in glioblastoma , which is the most aggressive form of brain cancer , and other types of brain cancer . So there is a big need for that right now ,” he says .
Early diagnosis of the disease is very important . Currently , the only ways to diagnose glioblastoma are MRI or CT scans , which are expensive and usually catch the tumors only after they have become enlarged , and therefore more difficult to treat . The goal is to eventually find biomarkers so that glioblastoma can be diagnosed through blood , urine , or saliva tests earlier and more easily .
The Dela Rosas The only known risk factor for glioblastoma is ionizing radiation , which is used in X-rays . “ Some genetic mutations have been known to play a role , but an inherited case is very rare ,” says Dr . Fonkem . He took that information to inform his decision to study the Dela Rosa family , of Killeen . Six-year-old Ainslee Dela Rosa and her father Rory each died about a year after their diagnosis . Ainslee ’ s brother , Zavier , was diagnosed in 2015 and at the age of 21 , continues to receive treatment at the Scott & White Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center in Temple . ( See Zavier Dela Rosa ’ s story on p . 12 .)
Dr . Fonkem knows of no similar cases in medical literature that document multiple family members afflicted by the disease . “ It became apparent to us all that these three family members could not have this disease just by coincidence ,” he says . “ So we wanted to find out what was unique about this family .” The team developed the name “ familial glioblastoma ” to begin to understand the nature of this disease in family members .
DNA analysis reveals linkage With DNA samples from the three family members , the researchers went to work . An analysis found that all three family members had a mutation of the HRAS gene . ( A mutation is a permanent change in a gene ’ s DNA sequence . All cancers are caused by a genetic mutation , but not all genetic mutations cause cancer .) A normal HRAS gene typically controls cell growth and suppresses cancer development , Dr . Fonkem says .
18 THE CATALYST Fall 16 | sw . org