Ученый из Клемсона использует куриные эмбрионы для поиска лечения редкой детской опухоли мозга

Clemson scientist uses chicken eggs to study rare pediatric brain tumor Researcher hopes to find treatment that targets tumor without harming developing brain GREENWOOD, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A Clemson University scientist is using chicken embryos to study a rare and aggressive pediatric brain cancer, hoping to identify where the tumor originates so doctors can target it more precisely. Dr. Tara Doucet-O’Hare, a professor at Clemson’s Institute of Human Genetics in Greenwood, is researching atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor, known as ATRT. The cancer affects children mostly under the age of three. Current treatments Current treatment for ATRT involves surgery, radiation and chemotherapy — a regimen that carries significant physical consequences for young patients. “One of the tragedies with these kids, especially that have ATRT, is that the standard of care is a big surgical resection to take out as much of the tumor as possible, and then do radiation and chemo,” Doucet-O’Hare said. “And that’s so hard on a child that’s under the age of three. I mean, it would be hard on an adult, let alone your child.” The research Doucet-O’Hare is using chicken embryos to observe how cells migrate and grow during early development — a research technique with a long history. “Chicken embryos have an extremely long history of being used for developmental studies that go all the way back to Aristotle,” she said. “He used to open chicken eggs and look at the developmental processes. So this has been going on for thousands of years.” At the center of ATRT is a single genetic mutation that disrupts how a cell organizes and expresses its instructions. “It’s like if you went in the library and threw all the books off the shelves and you don’t have your Dewey decimal system to help you figure out where everything is,” Doucet-O’Hare said. “So the cell has a really hard time expressing what it’s supposed to express because it doesn’t know where all those books are.” Patient tissue samples Her team recently received patient tissue samples from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a process that took more than a year to secure. The goal is to determine exactly where the tumor originates so treatment can be directed at the tumor without affecting surrounding brain tissue. “I think one of the really hopeful things with our work is that we could find a treatment that targets the tumor and leaves the rest of the developing brain alone,” she said. Doucet-O’Hare said becoming a mother in the last three years has deepened her connection to the families affected by the disease. “I think that has made me a lot more emotional about thinking about what these parents must be going through,” she said. “And so that motivates me even more.” MORE NEWS: Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with FOX Carolina. For more free content like this, download our apps. Copyright 2026 WHNS. All rights reserved.