Scientists in Birmingham, UK, are pioneering the diagnosis ...



University of Birmingham Media Release

9 November 2004

Magnetic Milestones in Children’s Brain Tumour Treatment

The University of Birmingham is working with Birmingham Children’s Hospital to use high-tech science to make a difference to children’s lives. Scientists and clinicians are pioneering the diagnosis and treatment of children’s brain tumours using the most powerful and stable magnetic instruments in the world. For the first time, it is becoming possible to tell the type of tumour and predict its behaviour using magnetic resonance scans. Alongside these advanced head scans, scientists are using superconducting magnets to analyse samples from children’s tumours – improving diagnosis and treatment.

The University of Birmingham is home to the UK’s first 900 MHz Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, a national resource within the Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy. The spectrometers use powerful magnetic fields to allow researchers to look in minute detail at a sample, the 900MHz is 20 times stronger than hospital imaging magnets. The relationships between atoms and molecules can be examined to point to the types of effects drug treatments could have. This technology could lead to more efficient treatments on an individual basis.

Professor Michael Overduin is executive director of the Birmingham’s national NMR facility and professor of structural biology at the University of Birmingham. He explains: “Using these powerful magnets we can image and diagnose the root causes of cancer and other diseases. They also help us understand basic biology, for example the mechanisms of proteins that make cells grow and divide. This benefits patients through diagnosis and importantly assists drug development – pharmaceutical companies will be carrying out research here alongside university and hospital scientists”.

Dr Andrew Peet, a Department of Health Clinician Scientist, and his colleagues at Birmingham Children’s Hospital have been collecting the new scans on children's tumours for two years. He explains “Overall, about 70 per cent of children with cancer are cured but despite this success, cancer is the most common cause of death in children after the first few years of life and improvements in diagnosis and treatment are urgently needed. We are developing new magnetic resonance scans to measure the levels of chemicals in tumours to help us diagnose them and tell us the best way to treat them. In future these scans may allow us to avoid surgery in some patients and improve treatment in others.

“At present, to interpret these new scans we need information on the chemistry of the tumours and this is obtained by putting tumour samples in the magnets in the Henry Wellcome Building. These magnets are far stronger than the ones which we can put the children in giving much better data. By combining these experiments with scans we can ensure that scientific discoveries benefit the patients with a minimum of delay.”

This science could make a direct impact on the lives of families such as the Smyth family from Northfield, Birmingham. Tim Smyth, aged 12, had crippling headaches and an eye test showed swelling behind the brain, pointing to a tumour. A scan showed that a tumour was indeed present but surgery was needed to confirm the type was a germinoma. The location in the midline of the brain meant surgery was difficult and potentially dangerous. However finding out that it was a germonoma meant radiotherapy could be given as it is known that almost all germinomas are cured by this treatment. In Tim’s case his tumour had disappeared 6 months later and his only remaining symptom is some double vision.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

For further information contact Abigail Dixon, Press Officer, telephone 0121 414 5134 or 07789 921163

Notes for Broadcast Journalists:

Moving footage/interviews are available free of charge as a package to broadcast media via Research TV, due for streaming via APTN on Tuesday 9 November at 12:45 - 12:55 GMT. Go to for more details or to request footage. Footage includes the Smyth family, the scanners in action and interviews with Prof Overduin and Dr Peet.

The Henry Wellcome Building for Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy at the University of Birmingham is the UK’s National Centre for biological molecular research. The £8 million facility is used to help image and diagnose disorders including cancer, to understand mechanisms of action of biomedically important molecules, and to solve structures of proteins involved in infection, ageing and cancer studies. It houses 5 magnetic spectrometers, the largest being 900MHz which is 5 metres tall and cost £3.5million. The building project was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

The Medical School at the University of Birmingham is a major international centre for research and education in medicine and medical sciences. The School has centres of excellence in cancer, immunology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and endocrinology and provides an environment in which basic and clinical scientists work together to find cures and treatments for major diseases. It has one of the largest intakes of undergraduate students in the UK (450/year), and employs over 1000 teaching, research, technical, support and administrative staff. The Medical School is the largest within the University of Birmingham; it has a turnover of approximately £80 million a year.

Germinoma

The germinoma is the most common type of germ cell tumour in the brain. It typically occurs in the pineal or supersellar region of the brain. They are common in teenagers and particularly boys. Over 90% are cured by radiotherapy alone.

Biographies

Dr Andrew Peet is a clinical research fellow funded by the Department of Health Clinician Scientist Award Scheme to research the application of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the diagnosis and management of paediatric brain tumours. He is based at the Institute of Child Health which links the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the University of Birmingham. Key funders for his work also include the Joe Foote Foundation, Alistair Wainwright Foundations and the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Research Foundation.

Professor Michael Overduin is Executive Director of the HWB-NMR and Professor of Structural Biology in the Institute for Cancer Studies at the University of Birmingham. He studies proteins involved in signal transduction and membrane trafficking, and previously helped to launch NMR facilities at the University of Colorado.

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