Brain Tumor Growth Accelerated By Act of Thinking, Says New Research

Deadly brain tumors can proliferate and grow by the act of thinking, according to a new study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

"This tumor is utilizing the core function of the brain, thinking, to promote its own growth," according to Michelle Monje, senior author of the study, researcher, and neurologist from Stanford University, via NPR.

Neuronal activity stimulates the growth and spread of high-grade glioma (HGG), a malignant tumor that starts in the spine or brain. The findings were published online last Thursday in the journal Cell. The research team made use of mice models whose brains have been planted with human glioma tumors. A technique, called optogenetics, was used to increase cell activity near the tumors. The level of activity turns out to have accelerated the glioma quickly.

According to Monje, it is unusual that the tumor growth to be driven by the organ's major function. "We don't think about bile production promoting liver cancer growth, or breathing promoting the growth of lung cancer," she said. "But we've shown that brain function is driving these brain cancers," she adds.

According to Medical Xpress, high-grade gliomas carry the worst prognosis among those who are diagnosed with brain tumors. Its survival rate is pretty low and has been for the last 30 years.

"Clinically, fighting high-grade gliomas is a lot like trying to fight a forest fire," Monje said. "Our new findings indicate that this metaphorical forest fire has been difficult to extinguish because there is something akin to gasoline seeping up from the soil." Monje is also a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

There are different categories of HGG and each tumor comes from different parts of the brain. However, all of them start near the cerebral cortex of the brain. This part is responsible for language and thinking. Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is prevalent among children, pediatric cortical glioblastoma affects young adults and teens, anaplastic oligodendroglioma affects aduts, and glioblastoma multiforme affects older adults.

The team was able to zero in on a specific substance, the protein neuroligin-3 responsible for the growth of tumor when there is neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex.

The findings of the researchers could possibly enable the development of high-grade glioma treatments. A better approach would be to create drugs to seize the activities of neuroligin-3 that promotes the growth of tumors.

"It will be gratifying when we make some difference for these kids," Monje told NPR.