Rally-Funded Discovery: Blocking Brain Cancer’s Bosses

Brain cancer is scary, especially when it affects kids. A group of brain cancers, called pediatric high-grade gliomas, are both common and hard to treat. But thanks to funding from Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, Renee Read, Ph.D., a scientist at Emory University, is doing something about it. 

Dr. Read’s research focuses on finding weak spots in these tough brain tumors, kind of like finding a secret button that makes the bad guys disappear. 

What She Discovered 

Dr. Read and her team studied a type of brain cancer with a broken gene called EGFR. When this gene doesn’t work properly, it tells cancer cells to grow and grow and not stop. It also turns on two proteins named YAP and TAZ (yes, those are their real names). These proteins are like tiny bosses in the cell that say, “Keep working! Keep growing!” 

But here’s the interesting part: the cancer cells rely so much on YAP and TAZ that if you block them, the cancer cells can’t survive. 

A Drug That Hits the Weak Spot 

Dr. Read tested a drug called verteporfin. It was already being tested in adults with brain cancer, and she wanted to know if it could help kids too. Verteporfin works by blocking those bossy proteins, YAP and TAZ. 

In lab studies, when cancer cells were treated with verteporfin, they stopped growing and died. The drug found their weak spot and hit it. Dr. Read shared this exciting discovery at the 2024 Society for Neuro-Oncology meeting. 

Why This Matters for Kids 

Before any new drug is given to children, it must first be tested in adults. That’s because adults can make their own medical decisions and give permission to be part of clinical trials. 

Thanks to early funding from Rally Foundation, Dr. Read was able to: 
– Launch this important research in adult brain cancer, 
– Bring more scientists into the fight against pediatric brain tumors, 
– Work with doctors who treat kids with brain cancer, 
– Help start early-stage clinical trials for kids, and 
– Get more funding from major groups like the National Institutes of Health and private cancer foundations. 

The Bottom Line 

Dr. Read’s work is helping create better treatments for kids with dangerous brain tumors. And it all began with Rally’s support. 

This is why early-stage research funding matters.

This is the power of philanthropic seed investing.

This is Rally.