New strategy for defeating neuroblastoma

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a promising strategy for defeating neuroblastoma - a malignant form of cancer in children - that focuses on the so-called MYCN protein. A specific chemical molecule helps to break down MYCN, which either kills the cancer cell or makes it mature into a harmless neuron. The discovery, which is published in the scientific journal PNAS, raises hopes for new and more effective treatments in the future - Neuroblastoma is the third most common form of cancer in children. It usually develops before the age of two and affects around two dozen children per year in Sweden and around 800 in the US. The tumours are normally located in the peripheral nervous system, but in very young infants they can sometimes spread over the entire body. Current therapies are tough and have serious side effects, and for many of the patients the prognosis is poor. In its most aggressive form only a minority survive, which makes finding alternative treatments particularly urgent.