A team of Turkish and American scientists, led by Turkish physician Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç and Prof. Dr. Murat Günel, Director of the Yale Program on Neurogenetics, has revealed the genetic landscape of meningiomas, the most common primary brain tumor. Their research, published in the journal Science, found that nearly the entire genetic landscape of meningiomas can be explained by abnormalities in just five genes. By understanding the genomic profile of the tumors and their location in the brain, personalized medical therapies for meningiomas can be developed for the first time, as opposed to current management options that are limited to surgical intervention.
AN OPPORTUNITY OF TAILOR-MADE THERAPY
Dr. Murat Gunel, the Nixdorff-German Professor of Neurosurgery, professor of genetics and of neurobiology, and leader of the study, highlighted that "Combining knowledge of these mutations with the location of tumor growth has direct clinical relevance and opens the door for personalized therapies."
Dr. Türker Kılıç and his team analyzed the genomic data of 300 meningiomas and identified four new genetic suspects. Each gene offers clues to the origins and treatment of the condition, and tumors mutated with each of these genes tend to be located in different areas of the brain. This indicates how likely they are to become malignant, presenting an opportunity for tailor-made therapies for meningiomas.
A SUCCESS OF TURKISH SCIENTISTS
Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç was responsible for leading the research's Turkish component. "Bahçeşehir University's Faculty of Medicine is part of a global knowledge and sharing network. We initiated this project with Prof. Dr. Murat Günel, a member of the Board of Trustees of Bahçeşehir University. Istanbul is a significant center for surgery, and Yale University is a major research center. The majority of the authors in this study are Turkish, and we must also acknowledge the contributions of Prof. Dr. Necmettin Pamir. Most of the tumors used in the study were collected from Turkey, and the data was collected and processed by academics from the Faculty of Medicine of Bahçeşehir University. This is the first Turkish neurosurgery study to be published in Science. Following this, our studies on tumors originating from brain nerves will also be published," said Dr. Türker Kılıç, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Bahçeşehir University.
A COLLABORATION OF BAU MEDICINE & YALE
The Dean also emphasized, “Bahçeşehir University has recently established a new faculty of medicine with the aim of conducting research and becoming a leading institution in the global knowledge network. This study is a testament to our progress in achieving this goal. Despite being a newly established faculty, we have collaborated with Yale University, one of the world's top research universities, which demonstrates that we are on the right track. Today, nationality is not a barrier in the scientific world; what matters is the knowledge you produce. The more knowledge you produce, the more you expand the boundaries of science.”
WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH LABORATORIES OF BAU MEDICINE
Dr. Kılıç also emphasized the need for Turkey to aim higher in medical education and research in light of the study's findings. "With this study, we will continue to build the new Faculty of Medicine with the goal of equipping it with world-class laboratories and research staff capable of conducting research in at least three scientific areas. Through our knowledge network, we should aim for a minimum of 10 out of every 100 studies published in the world to be our own, while also collaborating on the other 90 studies," said Dr. Kılıç.
Prof. Dr. Türker Kılıç
Prof. Dr. Murat Günel
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