WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- An overexpressed gene found at the scene of a variety of tumors is implicated in the development of two types of malignant brain cancer, according to a paper by U.S. researchers to be published in the July 3 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    "Just because a gene is associated with cancer doesn't mean that it's actually causing cancer. In this paper we show for the first time that insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) connects with two other proteins to fuel development and progression of brain tumors," says senior author Wei Zhang at the University of Texas Anderson Cancer Center.

    Using a gene transfer delivery system in a mouse model, a team led by Zhang shows that IGFBP2 plays an active role in the tumorigenesis of astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma. Both cancers are forms of glioma that develop in the glial cells -- which normally support and nourish neurons and are highly resistant to treatment.

    "This makes IGFBP2 an important candidate for development of targeted therapy to treat gliomas," Zhang says. Gliomas kill about 13,000 people in the United States annually.

    "The survival of the most advanced stage of glioma has not significantly improved for decades," notes Zhang. "We hope IGFBP2 will provide an effective target for treatment of this devastating disease."

    The gene is expressed only at low levels in normal cells, which would potentially reduce side effects caused by a treatment that targeted the gene or its protein product.