![\"Translucent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2025-Brain-Tumor-Map-696x392.jpg\" "\\"2025-Brain-Tumor-Map\\"\/")
A new online tool developed by researchers at UofL promises to speed up the discovery of treatments for brain and nerve tumors.<\/p>\n A new online tool developed by researchers at UofL promises to speed up the discovery of treatments for brain and nerve tumors.<\/p>\n
A new online tool developed by researchers at the University of Louisville promises to speed up the discovery of treatments for brain and nerve tumors, especially rare ones that have had limited research attention.<\/p>\n
A team led by Akshitkumar Mistry, a neurosurgeon and scientist at UofL and UofL Health, has created the\u00a0Atlas of Nervous System Tumors<\/a>. It is the largest publicly available dataset of its kind and includes more than 7,000 tumor samples from the brain, spinal cord and nerves, which were drawn from biorepositories around the world. For each sample, the atlas combines gene activity data with clinical information such as patient age, tumor location and survival outcomes.<\/p>\n \u201cBrain and nervous system tumors are incredibly diverse,\u201d Mistry said. \u201cThis tool helps researchers quickly understand how these tumors behave at the genomic level, which can point the way to new or repurposed treatments that might be tested in clinical trials.\u201d<\/p>\n The team built the atlas by applying advanced machine learning techniques to tumor genomic data. It includes many extremely rare tumor types for which data have previously been sparse or unavailable.<\/p>\n Kentucky ranks among the highest in the nation for new cancer cases\u00a0and cancer-related death<\/a>. Although brain cancers are rare, they are especially devastating and can affect people at any age. They are more common in children under 15 and adults over 64, and their causes remain poorly understood, leaving few options for prevention.<\/p>\n The atlas project was supported by the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund and the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Mistry\u2019s work also is supported by the Louisville Clinical and Translational Research Center<\/a> at UofL and by a UofL Presidential Scholars award.<\/p>\n A new tool to identify therapies<\/p>\n While the atlas is not meant to provide direct treatment recommendations, Mistry<\/a> emphasized that it will enable researchers to classify tumors and identify therapies based on how their genes behave, going beyond traditional DNA mutations or histology. This deeper classification can reveal biological similarities to other cancers that already have approved therapies.<\/p>\n