The largest and most detailed molecular analysis yet of an aggressive brain cancer, called glioblastoma, reveals fundamental details that drive its growth.
The work was led by a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Case Western Reserve University, and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The results might one day be useful to tailor a patient’s treatment.
Glioblastoma is the most common brain tumor, with almost 12,000 patients diagnosed every year in the U.S. The genetic information in this cancer is well characterized, but genetic differences do not seem to affect how a patient responds to treatment.
The scientists wanted a deeper understanding of additional molecular details of glioblastoma. A more detailed classification based on patterns of gene expression, protein activation, and metabolite production might also help doctors identify treatments that are most effective for particular tumor subtypes.
