WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In general, brain tumors occur slightly more often in men than in females, and are more harmful. Ever wondered why there is a gender bias in the pathogenesis of brain tumors?
Well... New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has revealed one reason underlying this gender difference.
According to the researchers, the level of retinoblastoma protein, or RB, a protein known to reduce cancer risk, is significantly less in male brain cells than in female brain cells.
As part of the study, the researchers studied three genes that normally suppress cell division and cell survival namely neurofibromin, p53 and RB, and found that RB was more likely to be inactivated in male brain cells than in female brain cells. When the RB protein in female brain cells was disabled, the cells were found to be equally susceptible to becoming cancerous.
Commenting on the study findings, senior author of the study Joshua Rubin, said, 'These results suggest we need to go back and look at multiple pathways linked to cancer, checking for sex differences. Knowing more about why cancer rates differ between males and females will help us understand basic mechanisms in cancer, seek more effective therapies and perform more informative clinical trials.'
The study is published August 1 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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