Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that on activation generates signals that can modulate crucial cell functions, including cell proliferation, migration, and survival. In vitro, overexpression of FAK has been shown to promote cell proliferation by signaling through the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in several cell types. We have shown previously that ov...

Malignant astrocytomas are the most common and lethal adult primary brain tumor. Retroviral gene trapping of nontransformed neonatal astrocytes from a glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP):(V12)Ha-Ras murine astrocytoma model led to isolation of the transcription factor Gata6. Loss of Gata6 resulted in enhanced proliferation and transformation of astrocytes. Human malignant astrocytoma cell li...

We used the nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database to analyze the risk for nervous system tumors in offspring through parental and sibling probands. Among 0-68-year-old offspring, close to 11000 patients with a nervous system tumor were identified in years 1961 to 2000, among whom 199 had a parent diagnosed with a nervous system tumor. Brain tumors constituted 86% of all tumors, and astrocyt...

Leukocyte infiltration and necrosis are two biological phenomena associated with the development of neovascularization during the malignant progression of human astrocytoma. Here, we demonstrate expression of interleukin (IL)-8, a cytokine with chemotactic and angiogenic properties, and of IL-8-binding receptors in astrocytoma. IL-8 expression is first observed in low grade astrocytoma in periv...

OBJECTIVE The objective of present study was to observe the histopathological pattern of intracranial tumors in children (< 15 yrs) and to correlate the site of lesion along with the histological diagnosis. SETTING The study included consecutive cases of intracranial tumors diagnosed in children (< 15 yrs.) in the section of histopathology at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi during t...

BACKGROUND/AIM At the moment there are few scoring systems for malignant astrocytoma but they are not widely accepted. The aim of this study was to evaluate malignant astrocytoma score (MAS) on a new group of patients with malignant astrocytoma, to compare MAS with other prognostic tools and to describe the use of MAS in everyday practice in neurooncology. METHODS The study was performed on 1...

Diffuse astrocytoma of (WHO grade II) has a tendency to progress spontaneously to anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III) and/or glioblastoma (WHO grade IV). However, the molecular basis of astrocytoma progression is still poorly understood. In current study, an essential initial step toward this goal is the establishment of the taxonomy of tumors on the basis of their gene expression profiles. ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In a limited number of patients, the level of myo-inositol (MI), as seen by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HMRS), has been shown to differ for gliomas of different histologic grades. We sought to determine if MI levels correlate with cerebral astrocytoma grade. METHODS Five control subjects, 14 patients with low-grade astrocytoma, 10 patients with anaplastic as...