A new study carried out by scientists from the Columbia University has led to the discovery of 2 genes responsible for one of the most aggressive brain cancer forms, Glioblastoma multiforme, which invades the normal brain at an astonishing speed and produces inoperable tumors. Scientists have so far been unable to understand as to why the cancer is so aggressive.

The genes discovered, C/EPB and Stat3, have been found to be active in nearly 60% of patients suffering from glioblastoma, and they appear to work in tandem to turn on any other genes that have been held responsible for making cells in the brain cancerous.

Patients who were diagnosed with brain cancer, and had tumors which showed evidence of presence of both the genes, died within 140 weeks of diagnosis, as compared to about 50% of the patients without any activity from these genes, who were alive even after that period.

"When simultaneously activated, they work together to turn on hundreds of other genes that transform brain cells into highly aggressive, migratory cells. The finding means that suppressing both genes simultaneously, using a combination of drugs, may be a powerful therapeutic approach for these patients, for whom no satisfactory treatment exists", said lead researcher Dr Antonio Iavarone.

Details of the study have been published in the journal Nature.