Based on findings from a study that looked at 297 patients, 127 with glioblastoma and 170 with a lower grade glioma, scientists were able to identify a group of genes that may play a role in how long patients can live after developing glioblastoma multiforme. This tumor affects the glial cells in the brain. Most patients with this diagnosis live an average of less than two years even with various forms of treatments based on the fast-growing nature of the tumor. “We’ve had luck with other types of cancer in removing the brakes on the immune system to allow it to fight the tumors, but this has not been the case with glioblastoma,” said study author Anhua Wu, MD, PhD, of the First Hospital of China Medical University in Shenyang, China. “If our discovery of these genes is validated in other studies, we could use this ‘gene signature’ to determine the best treatments or path of treatment.” To read more, click here.
