A deep dive into pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG).
Understanding the biology of BRAF-driven pLGG
pLGG, or pediatric low-grade glioma,
is the most common type of diagnosed brain tumor in children.
Knowing more about the underlying biology of pLGG
may help with the treatment selection
or treatment strategy for your child.
It starts with knowing each normal cell
has pathways that control its growth.
It can be helpful to think of these pathways
as production lines.
Items move from station to station in an orderly fashion,
allowing for normal growth and production of cells.
Each production line’s speed is regulated
by control panels.
Sometimes there can be a malfunction
with a control panel that causes abnormal growth.
This is the case with pLGG.
One of the main control panels in pLGG is called BRAF.
When a change, or alteration,
occurs to the BRAF control panel,
it starts speeding up production.
The increased production causes chaos.
This alteration, or change to the BRAF gene,
is what makes many pLGG tumors grow.
The 2 primary types of BRAF alterations are a BRAF fusion
and a BRAF point mutation.
Comprehensive genomic testing can help uncover
if one may be driving a tumor’s growth.
Understanding how the tumor grows may help find
the most appropriate targeted therapy.
Talk to your child’s doctor about how to best test the tumor.