A head injury may one day lead to the development of a relatively rare but often aggressive form of brain tumor called a glioma, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that patients who suffered a head injury were nearly four times more likely to develop brain cancer later in life, compared to those who had no head injury. The reason is that mutations in certain genes synergize with brain inflammation, which is induced by acute injury and then increases over time during the natural process of aging, making astrocytes more likely to initiate cancer.
However, it is important to note that the risk of developing brain cancer is low overall, estimated at less than 1 percent over a lifetime, so even after an injury the risk remains modest, said the researchers from University College London. Is.
“Our research suggests that brain trauma may contribute to an increased risk of developing brain cancer in later life,” said lead author Professor Simona Parinello, from UCL’s Cancer Institute.
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“We know that there are many mutations in normal tissues that just sit there and don’t have any major effect. Our findings show that if injury occurs on top of those mutations, it produces a synergistic effect.
“In a young brain, basal inflammation is low, so mutations are kept in check even after severe brain injury. However, upon aging, our mouse work suggests that inflammation increases throughout the brain, but injury more intensely at an earlier site. It may reach a certain threshold after which the mutation no longer begins to manifest itself,” Perinello said.
Gliomas are brain tumors that most often originate in neural stem cells. More mature types of brain cells, such as astrocytes, are thought to be less likely to give rise to tumors. However, recent findings have demonstrated that astrocytes can re-display stem cell behavior after injury.
The findings confirm this – the study says that genetic mutations working together with inflammation of brain tissue change the behavior of cells, making them more likely to become cancerous. After testing on mice, the team confirmed the theory in humans. They examined the electronic medical records of more than 20,000 people who had been diagnosed with head injuries, comparing rates of brain cancer with those of a control group.