The Drosophila l(3)tb mutant as a model to study stress-inducible Hsp70-expressing brain tumor

Brain tumors remain among the most aggressive cancers due to their ability to adapt to microenvironmental stress to sustain malignancy and resist therapy. We propose Drosophila lethal(3) tumorous brain [ l(3)tb ] mutant, which develops rapidly expanding brain tumors, as a genetically tractable in vivo model to study stress-adaptive tumor growth. The progressive brain enlargement in l(3)tb/l(3)tb larvae is accompanied by robust tumor size-dependent induction of Hsp70, a molecular chaperone linked to poor glioma prognosis. These findings position the l(3)tb model as a powerful platform for evaluation of stress tolerance in brain tumors.