Funded by The Little Princess Trust and administered by CCLG
Lead investigator: Dr John Apps, University of Birmingham
Award: £39,510.00
Awarded July 2021
Craniopharyngioma, a brain tumour affecting children, is difficult to treat. Due to its location, close to important parts of the brain, surgery often cannot completely remove it. Radiotherapy reduces the chance of it coming back, but it still regrows in around one quarter of children after surgery and/or radiotherapy. Brain damage from tumour growth, re-growth, surgery and radiotherapy leads to lifelong problems, or even death in young adulthood. New treatments are therefore urgently needed.
Work within the laboratories of the investigators has identified potential drugs that could turn off tumour growth: “MEK inhibitors” and “IL6 inhibitors”. These drugs will be tested in patients whose tumours have regrown in a clinical trial called “CONNECT-1905”, which is opening soon in the UK and North America. In this project, we will perform detailed biological studies of tumour samples from the trial, looking at the DNA and other tumour components, giving us unparalleled insight into the composition of these tumours, and helping us to understand why tumours recur and why they do or do not respond the new treatments. Cysts are a common part of many craniopharyngiomas, particularly during recurrence, and can be large.
We do not fully understand what the cysts contain and how they form and grow. Although we know that a drug (interferon alpha) can delay cyst refilling, we do not understand how it works. In this proposal, we will analyse cyst fluid, and investigate the effect of interferon alpha on cyst contents. Together these experiments will help us understand why some patients' tumours regrow and certain tumours may or may not respond to the new treatments. This will help us identify, understand, develop, and refine new treatments for people with craniopharyngioma.