A gene that is responsible for the deadliest type of brain tumor is also responsible for two forms of rhabdomyosarcoma, a childhood cancer affecting soft tissue, researchers at Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Health found.
Researchers published their most recent findings June 6 in PNAS. They found in 2020 that the gene AVIL is the cancer-causing gene responsible for glioblastoma, the most lethal form of brain cancer.
"We accumulated multiple lines of evidence supporting [the gene] AVIL is powerful driver for both major types of rhabdomyosarcoma," said Hui Li, PhD, researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and UVA Cancer Center. "The tumors are oncogene addicted to AVIL, which supports the rationale to design therapeutic interventions to target AVIL in this childhood cancer."