Treatments in the UK

In a Medical Journal Abstract listed in PubMed, on July 30, 2012, " The role of insulin-like growth factor signaling in merlin-deficient human schwannomas.", it discussed treatments in the UK and how more research needs to be done to understand better the mechanisms that cause tumors to grow and continue to grow, for individuals with NF2.

Similar to how Antibodies are proteins produced by the body to fight off germs, MERLIN is a protein the body should make to fight off tumors. People with NF2 do not have MERLIN, and because of this, tumors easily grow in the nervous system. Common tumor types are; Schwannomas, Meningiomas, and Ependymomas. Schwannomas are the most common for NF2.

Treatments like Radiosurgery, different forms of Radiation treatments, do not always work. Doctors and researchers understand the need for drug treatments instead.

Scientists have done tests concluding that without MERLIN, not only does it put these tumors in a position to easily be made but to continuously grow. Increased growth of a result of ErbB2/3, also known as Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2), because of an overabundance of the Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGFR-β). In the UK, treatment of tumor management has been possible with:

• AZD6244 (Selumetinib)
• Sorafenib
• Lapatinib

Therowth of Schwannoma is not just due to PDGFR-β and is completely independent of ErbB2/3.

Creation and continuous growth of Schwannoma cells are still not fully understood and not simply just caused by ErbB2/3.

Sources

• PubMed - Medical Journal Abstract:
  The role of insulin-like growth factors signaling in merlin-deficient human schwannomas.
• GLIA Journal - Shared in Wiley Online Library - Medical Journal Abstract:
  The role of insulin-like growth factors signaling in merlin-deficient human schwannomas.