Current Topics on Precision Medicine for Neurofibromatosis Type 2

Abstract

Neurofibromatosis type 2(NF2)is a hereditary condition that causes bilateral vestibular schwannomas(VS), multiple schwannomas, and meningiomas. The prognosis is poor because the multiplicity of the tumors leads to a progressive decline in the quality of life, deafness, and death in an early age. NF2 is caused by a disorder in the tumor suppressor gene NF2, which encodes the merlin protein. Although it is an autosomal dominant disease, more than half of cases are presumed to be de novo caused by somatic mosaicism, the diagnosis rate of which has been improved by the recently introduced technology of targeted deep sequencing of DNA from multiple tissues. No chemotherapeutic drugs for treating NF2-related VS are available at present, and surgery and radiotherapy remain the only therapeutic options. Recently, a randomized, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial has started in Japan to verify the efficacy and safety of bevacizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets vascular endothelial growth factor, in treating NF2-related VS.