Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma, also known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive cancer that begins within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are non-specific. They may include headaches, personality changes, nausea, and symptoms similar to those of a stroke. Worsening of symptoms often is rapid. This may progress to unconsciousness.
The cause of most cases is unclear. Uncommon risk factors include genetic disorders such as neurofibromatosis and Li–Fraumeni syndrome, and previous radiation therapy. Glioblastomas represent 15% of brain tumors. They can either start from normal brain cells or develop from an existing low-grade astrocytoma. The diagnosis typically is made by a combination of CT scan, MRI scan, and tissue biopsy.
There is no clear way to prevent the disease. Typically, treatment involves surgery, after which chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used. The medication temozolomide is used frequently as part of chemotherapy. High dose steroids may be used to help reduce swelling and decrease symptoms. It is unclear whether trying to remove all or simply most of the cancer is better.
Despite maximum treatment, the cancer usually recurs. The most common length of survival following diagnosis is 12 to 15 months, with fewer than 3% to 5% of people surviving longer than five years. Without treatment, survival is typically three months. It is the most common cancer that begins within the brain and the second most common brain tumor, after meningioma. About 3 per 100,000 people develop the disease a year. It most often begins around 64 years of age and occurs more commonly in males than females. Immunotherapy is being studied.
Common symptoms include seizure, headaches, nausea and vomiting, memory loss, changes to personality, mood or concentration, and localized neurological problems.
Kumaravel Somasundaram
Somasundaram's work is centered around the studies of oncoviruses, tumor suppressor genes, gliomas and microRNAs and he has done advanced research on glioblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer affecting the brain. The group led by him is engaged in work concerning the determination of the role of cellular tumor antigen p53 in glioma, regulating the protein, p73 in cervical cancer patients, using Adenovirus early region 1A, a tumor suppressor gene, the analytical study of BRCA1 gene in breast cancer and the analysis and regulation of SV2A, a synaptic vesicle protein. He demonstrated that glioblastoma spreads rapidly by producing macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) in large quantitites which in turn stimulate the growth of blood vessels in the tumor. He proposed that the MCSF interacted with the anti-tumor microglial cells of the human body and induced them to produce Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1), thereby impairing the capacity of microglial cells to fight the tumor cells, a process he called "befriending". The discovery of this new molecule, IGFBP1 and its role in glioma angiogenesis, led to a collaborative investigation which involved four research institutions namely National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences and Institute for Functional Genomics (INSERM) of the University of Montpellier, apart from the IISc. The research team led by Somasundaram and Phillipe Marin of INSERM validated the earlier findings and proposed a new therapeutic protocol for glioblastoma which targeted IGFBP1, rather than Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) which earlier treatment methods attacked. The researchers, later, released their findings through a paper, "Glioblastoma-derived Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (MCSF) Induces Microglial Release of Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 1 (IGFBP1) to Promote Angiogenesis", published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Work is in progress at his laboratory for developing biomarkers (twenty genes of which is named gene X, have already been discovered) for which detailed study is being conducted on microRNA, DNA methylation, modifications of chromatin and gene fusions. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 178 of them. He has also conducted workshops including the "Workshop on Next Generation Sequencing" organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in November 2013 and has delivered invited or plenary speeches at various conferences and seminars and the 5th annual meeting of the Proteomics Society, India held in September 2013 was one among them.