Recent advances in brain tumor molecular biology

Work in the field of molecular neuro-oncology has evolved from a purely descriptive catalogue of regional mutations to the implication of specific genes in the malignant process. Reverse genetic strategies have resulted in the cloning of the neurofibromatosis-1 and neurofibromatosis-2 genes, the molecular physiology of the p53 gene, and work is in progress toward identifying specific genes in each of the other major genomic regions in which genetic events accumulate during malignant progression in human gliomas. Current studies are examining the functional role of genes implicated in glioma malignancy and investigating the mechanisms of their dysregulation in the generation of the malignant phenotype.