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Review
. 2013 Dec;54 Suppl 9(0 9):25-9.
doi: 10.1111/epi.12439.

Gene markers in brain tumors: what the epileptologist should know

Quinn Ostrom  1 , Mark L Cohen, Annie Ondracek, Andrew Sloan, Jill Barnholtz-Sloan
Affiliations
Review

Gene markers in brain tumors: what the epileptologist should know

Quinn Ostrom et al. Epilepsia. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Gene markers or biomarkers can be used for diagnostic or prognostic purposes for all different types of complex disease, including brain tumors. Prognostic markers can be useful to explain differences not only in overall survival but also in response to treatment and for development of targeted therapies. Multiple genes with specific types of alterations have now been identified that are associated with improved response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, such as O(6)-methylguanine methyltranferase (MGMT) or loss of chromosomes 1p and/or 19q. Other alterations have been identified that are associated with improved overall survival, such as mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and/or isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) or having the glioma CpG island DNA methylator phenotype (G-CIMP). There are many biomarkers that may have relevance in brain tumor-associated epilepsy that do not respond to treatment. Given the rapidly changing landscape of high throughput "omics" technologies, there is significant potential for gaining further knowledge via integration of multiple different types of high genome-wide data. This knowledge can be translated into improved therapies and clinical outcomes for patients with brain tumors.

Keywords: Biomarker; Brain tumor; Epilepsy; Glioma-CpG island DNA methylator phenotype; Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1; Isocitrate dehydrogenase 2; Long-term epilepsy associated tumors; O6-methylguanine methyltranferase.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures

The authors do not have anything to disclose.

The authors confirm that they have read the Journal's position on issues involved in ethical publication and affirm that this report is consistent with those guidelines.

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