The Institute for Clinical Genetics at the Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden has developed a new method for the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours. Dr. med. Barbara Klink (head of research group brain tumor genetics and specialist in human genetics) and Prof. Dr. med. Evelin Schröck (director of the Institute of Clinical Genetics and director of the Core Unit for Molecular Tumor Diagnostics (CMTD) at the NCT partner location Dresden and specialist in human genetics) have succeeded in identifying and describing a fusion gene that is involved in the development of glioblastomas. Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumour in adults and is classified as grade IV according to the WHO classification. The average survival time of patients with glioblastoma is 12 to 15 months; a permanent cure cannot yet be achieved despite surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and the average survival time can only be extended by a few months and symptoms alleviated. In the past, a link between fusion genes and tumor formation has been demonstrated for certain types of cancer. A fusion gene is a gene sequence that is the result of a new genetic formation.

Dr. med. Barbara Klink and Prof. Dr. med. Evelin Schröck succeeded in detecting a fusion between the two genes ROBO2 and KIAA0368 to form the fusion gene KIAA0368-ROBO2. The resulting fusion gene plays a role in the development of cancer and is an indication of an existing glioblastoma. In addition to the detection of the fusion gene, the invention also includes a method for the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors. The method makes it possible to determine whether a patient can respond to a therapy in which the activity of KIAA0368-ROBO2 is to be prevented. TU Dresden filed a patent application for the method in 2014, which was granted in Germany, France, Switzerland, Great Britain and Belgium in 2018. Applications were also filed in the USA and Canada. Further research into the fusion gene and the possibilities of associated cancer therapy could play an important role in the treatment of glioblastomas in the future. Gene therapy is considered a promising field of research for cancer treatment and a "new era" in medicine.

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