According to story from Alpha Galileo, a recent study demonstrated that neuroblastoma cells, a form of cancer that forms in nerve tissue and often occurs in childhood, can transition into harmless, neuron-like cells when exposed to the female sex hormone estrogen.
Neuroblastoma is one of the most common forms of cancer that affects children. Although it can start is multiple areas of the body, it most commonly originates in the adrenal glands, although it commonly spreads to other organs. The cause of the cancer is unknown in most cases; rarely, it can be inherited from a person’s parents.
Symptoms tend to vary depending on where the tumor is located. The treatments and prognosis for neuroblastoma is also variable depending on the risk profile. In low and intermediate risk cases, the cancer can often be curable. Localized tumors, for example, can often be cured by surgical removal or simply be monitored closely if they are not causing symptoms. However, in high risk cases, the survival rate is far worse. In these cases, neuroblastoma may not respond to treatment, and it often relapses. To learn more about this type of cancer click here.
In the study, researchers were focused on what drives the most aggressive neuroblastoma cases, and the activity of the MYCN gene was found to drive the growth of the cancer cells and allow them to spread. It also prevented the cells from maturing. While it is well understood that MYCN tends to indicate worse outcome, little research has been conducted on how to interact with the gene as an approach to treatment.
One outcome of MYCN activity was the development of microRNAs that serve to disable estrogen receptors. Research demonstrated that inhibiting the activity of the microRNA or the use of estrogen combined with overexpression of the estrogen receptor allowed the neuroblastoma cancer cells to develop into cells that resemble mature neurons. These cells also behaved more like normal cells and did not have the malignant characteristics of cancer cells.
