The 2011 annual meeting of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, the annual gathering of the neurofibromatosis (NF) research and clinical communities, was attended by 330 participants who discussed integration of new signaling pathways into NF research, the appreciation for NF mutations in sporadic cancers, and an expanding pre-clinical and clinical agenda. NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis collectively affect approximately 100,000 persons in US, and result from mutations in different genes. Benign tumors of NF1 (neurofibroma and optic pathway glioma) and NF2 (schwannoma, ependymoma, and meningioma) and schwannomatosis (schwannoma) can cause significant morbidity, and there are no proven drug treatments for any form of NF. Each disorder is associated with additional manifestations causing morbidity. The research presentations described in this review covered basic science, preclinical testing, and results from clinical trials, and demonstrate the remarkable strides being taken toward understanding of and progress toward treatments for these disorders based on the close interaction among scientists and clinicians.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) holds an important role in retaining lung function, but its association with lung cancer is unclear. A case-control study was conducted to determine the possible associations of the genetic variants in the CFTR gene with lung cancer risk. Genotypes of a most common deletion ΔF508, one functional SNP, and eight tag SNPs in the CFTR gene were determined in 574 lung cancer patients and 679 controls. A logistic regression model, adjusting for known risk factors, was used to evaluate the association of each variant with lung cancer risk, as confirmation haplotype and sub-haplotype analyses were performed. ΔF508 deletion and genotypes with minor alleles in one tag SNP, rs10487372, and one functional SNP, rs213950, were inversely associated with lung cancer risk. The results of haplotype and sub-haplotype analyses were consistent with single variant analysis, all pointing to deletion ΔF508 being the key variant for significant haplotypes and sub-haplotypes. Individuals with ‘deletion-T’ (ΔF508/rs10487372) haplotype had a 68% reduced risk for lung cancer compared to common haplotype ‘no-deletion-C’ (OR=0.32; 95% CI=0.15–0.68; p=0.01). Genetic variations in the CFTR gene might modulate the risk of lung cancer. This study, for the first time, provides evidence of a protective role of the CFTR deletion carrier in the etiology of lung cancer.

SUMMARY

N-linked glycosylation is the most frequent modification of secreted and membrane-bound proteins in eukaryotic cells, disruption of which is the basis of the Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG). We describe a new type of CDG caused by mutations in the steroid 5α-reductase type 3 (SRD5A3) gene. Patients have mental retardation, ophthalmologic and cerebellar defects. We found that SRD5A3 is necessary for the reduction of the alpha-isoprene unit of polyprenols to form dolichols, required for synthesis of dolichol-linked monosaccharides and the oligosaccharide precursor used for N-glycosylation. The presence of residual dolichol in cells depleted for this enzyme suggests the existence of an unexpected alternative pathway for dolichol de novo biosynthesis. Our results thus suggest that SRD5A3 is likely to be the long-sought polyprenol reductase and reveal the genetic basis of one of the earliest steps in protein N-linked glycosylation.

Neurofibromatosis type I is a common tumor predisposing disease in humans. Surgical therapy can be applied only in selected patients with resectable masses. Hence, development of new therapies for this disease is urgent. We used human neurofibroma implants in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) as a model to test the toxicity and potential efficacy of pirfenidone, a new therapeutic agent. Two hundred twelve human neurofibromas were transplanted into various locations in 59 experimental animals, and 30 mice with implants received oral pirfenidone for up to six weeks. Survival of neurofibromas in animals treated with pirfenidone was lower than in the control group (P=.02). Tumors did not change histologic appearance or vascularization in response to pirfenidone. Treatment with pirfenidone, a new antifibrotic agent, inhibits survival of some tumors without causing toxicity in animals.