Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery (Mar 2014)

A hypothesis about the potential role of statin administration as adjuvant treatment in the management of Merlin-deficient tumors

  • Alexandros G. Brotis, MD, PhD,
  • Parmenion P. Tsitsopoulos, MD, PhD,
  • Tsiamalou M. Paraskevi, RN, PhD,
  • Anastasia Tasiou, MD, PhD,
  • Concienzio Di Rocco, MD, PhD,
  • Kostas N. Fountas, MD, PhD

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inat.2014.02.003
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 1
pp. 11 – 15

Abstract

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Merlin, a tumor suppressor protein, controls essential steps of cell cycle, and its deficiency results in cellular overgrowth, proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. Lack of Merlin is responsible for neurofibromatosis-2, most schwannomas, and many meningiomas and ependymomas. We hypothesize that there is a role for statins to ameliorate Merlin's deficiency in this set of tumors by inhibiting a number of Merlin's downstream effectors, the small Rho-GTP-ases, and we present the relevant data. The ultimate goal is to offer a medical therapy promising to halt or reduce the tumor growth-rate in patients harboring Merlin-deficient neoplasms and to provide an adjuvant systemic therapy for patients undergoing stereotactic radio-surgery and partial tumor resection.

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