Breakthrough results point to the deadliest brain cancer

This work, funded by the brain tumor research charity, may pave the way for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) to provide truly personalized treatment

A team from the Center for Excellence in Brain Tumor Research at Queen Mary University of London has established a new experimental research pipeline.

Glioblastoma stained under a microscope

Their paper was published today (Thursday, October 21, local time) in the high-impact "Nature Communications" magazine

Through the combination of laboratory work and sophisticated analytical computer programs, the team at Queen Mary’s College has discovered significant molecular differences that can be used to develop new treatments

Because GBM is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults, this research is of great significance

Hugh Adams, a spokesperson for the Brain Tumor Institute, said: "The complexity of this particular tumor type means that the standard of treatment for these patients has not changed in a generation, so this research brings much-needed hope for the future.

One of the main challenges in developing effective treatments for GBM is that tumors show significant differences between patients, even within a single patient’s tumor

"There is strong evidence that GBM cells are derived from neural stem cells, but previous studies have failed to compare tumor cells with cells presumed to come from the same person.

The results of the team's work show that this method can reveal new molecular targets for potential new treatments

Brain tumors cause more deaths in children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, but historically, only 1% of national cancer research expenditures are spent on this devastating disease

Brain Tumor Research funds sustainable research in specialized centres in the UK

References "Comparative epigenetic analysis of tumour initiating cells and syngeneic EPSC-derived neural stem cells in glioblastoma" 21 October 2021, Nature Communications .