Cell signaling pathway goes awry in common pediatric brain tumor

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers links a well-known cell communication pathway called Notch to one of the most common -- but overall still rare -- brain tumors found in children. Their study suggests the pathway's involvement with a low-grade brain tumor called pilocytic astrocytoma, or PA. According to Fausto Rodriguez, M.D., associate professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a member of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, he and his colleagues made their discovery while comparing the expression of genes -- as measured by the amount of RNA the genes made -- in the Notch pathway between brain tissue from a mix of healthy children and those with PA. Read more here.