
Brain UK study ref: 24/013,
Lay summary,
Project status: Active
Establishing a retrospective tissue cohort to investigate the genetic, epigenetic, metabolic and microenvironmental changes in recurrent glioblastoma
Prof Federico Roncaroli, University of Manchester
Glioblastoma is the most common aggressive type of brain cancer. Its incidence is rising, with more than 2,500 patients diagnosed each year in the UK. Currently there is no cure for glioblastoma. Patients who receive this devastating diagnosis only survive about 15-18 months from the time they have surgery.
Current standard treatment consists of surgical removal followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to slow the growth of any tumour cells that cannot be removed by surgery. Unfortunately, glioblastomas always come back and when they do so, they become unstoppable. Our group would like to understand the impact of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy on the tumour that remains after the operation and why tumour cells regrow. We will do this by examining tumour samples from the initial and any subsequent surgeries and by exploring changes in the tissue between both samples to clarify what causes glioblastomas to regrow and cause the death of patients.