Health · Medical Research · 1 day ago
Study identifies neuroblastoma cells linked to poor outcomes
Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor outside the brain in children, and patients can respond very differently to treatment.
Researchers studied 54 tumors from 50 patients to better understand the cancer’s different cell types.
They focused on mesenchymal cells, which are linked to high-risk disease, treatment resistance and poor outcomes.
These cancer cells can be hard to distinguish from healthy mesenchymal cells in a tumor sample.
Using patient-derived models, the team identified a gene signature that helps separate the cancer cells from healthy ones.
The signature improved predictions of patient outcomes in an independent database, unlike an older marker based on laboratory cell lines.
The researchers created new models and cell lines to give scientists tools to study high-risk neuroblastoma and why outcomes vary among children.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists and collaborators identified a gene signature linked to malignant mesenchymal neuroblastoma cells and poor outcomes.
The team studied 54 tumors from 50 patients using several technologies, including single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial omics.
Patient-derived models helped researchers distinguish cancer-related mesenchymal cells from healthy mesenchymal cells.
The gene signature improved predictions of patient outcomes when tested against an independent database of tumor RNA sequencing data.
The findings, published in Cancer Cell, offer tools for studying high-risk neuroblastoma.
- Who
- Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and their collaborators.
- What
- They identified and validated a gene signature for malignant mesenchymal neuroblastoma cells linked to poor outcomes.
- When
- The findings were published on October 10, 2026.
- Where
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; the study also analyzed patient tumors and patient-derived models.
- Why
- To distinguish treatment-resistant cancer cells from healthy mesenchymal cells and improve research into varied outcomes in neuroblastoma.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
With this new gene expression signature for mesenchymal cells in neuroblastoma, we can dig into why outcomes are so varied between different children with this cancer.
I’m just endlessly fascinated by the signature itself, because regardless of the test, it’s been very robust.
Researchers examined 54 tumors from 50 patients and used multiple technologies to characterize neuroblastoma cells.
The team used patient-derived xenografts, organoids and cell lines to identify and assess the gene signature.
Researchers tested the signature against an independent database of patient tumor RNA sequencing data.
The findings were published in Cancer Cell.
- Tumors examined
- 54 tumors from 50 patients
- Cell states
- Adrenergic and mesenchymal
- Study institution
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Publication
- Cancer Cell
- Publication date
- October 10, 2026
Sources
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