Gene identified as a new target for treatment of aggressive childhood eye tumor:

New findings from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) have helped identify the mechanism that makes the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma so aggressive. The discovery explains why the tumor develops so rapidly while other cancers can take years or even decades to form. The finding also led investigators to a new treatment target and possible therapy for the rare childhood tumor of the retina, the light-sensing tissue at the back of the eye. The study appears in the January 11 advance online edition of the scientific journal Nature.

Click here to read full press release from St.Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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Among the research institutions NCI funds across the United States, it currently designates 66 as Cancer Centers. Largely based in research universities, these facilities are home to many of the NCI-supported scientists who conduct a wide range of intense, laboratory research into cancer’s origins and development. The Cancer Centers Program also focuses on trans-disciplinary research, including population science and clinical research. The centers’ research results are often at the forefront of studies in the cancer field.