A study by the Molecular Oncology Research Center (CPOM) at Hospital de Amor in Barretos, Brazil, has identified distinct immune signatures in pediatric germ cell tumors (GCTs) that may guide the development of more targeted and less toxic treatments for children. Published in Frontiers in Immunology , the research analyzed the expression of about 800 immune-related genes and identified the types and behaviors of immune cells present in different GCT subtypes.

“Germ cell tumors can occur in adults as well as children and adolescents. In the pediatric population, they’re very rare, accounting for about three percent of tumors. Due to their rarity and heterogeneity, they’re difficult tumors to study,” said the study’s senior author Mariana Tomazini Pinto, PhD, a researcher of human bi

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