New research has provided the first step towards development of a blood test to diagnose glioblastoma, the most aggressive type of brain tumor. This would be significantly simpler than biopsy, which is invasive, painful, and time-consuming. In the study published today in Communications Biology, the researchers identified novel biomarkers in bodily fluids that signal the presence of the tumor.
“At the moment, the outlook for glioblastoma patients is bleak. As the most aggressive type of brain tumor, survival rate is low,” says senior author Georgios Giamas of the University of Sussex. “Our research provides more information about the markers which can signal the presence of glioblastoma—and the fact we’ve been able to identify ones that are associated with extracellular vesicles suggests that there could be a way to use bodily fluids to test for the tumor in future.”
Currently, a growing body of research is looking into the development of liquid biopsies like blood tests to spot other types of cancers (e.g., pancreatic). Rather than taking a piece of tissue from a respective organ, liquid biopsies would allow doctors to take a small sample of blood and test for a range of biomarkers which will help identify the subtype of tumor.
“Liquid biopsies mean a less invasive procedure for patients, and arguably quicker results —something which is invaluable for those with an aggressive tumor that severely cuts life expectancy,” says coauthor Thomas Simon. “But it could also mean better patient follow-up care, as a simple test can be carried out to check for the efficacy of existing treatments or for monitoring relapse.”
There are three subtypes of glioblastoma that all have biomarkers providing different information. The more researchers find out about these signatures, the more work can be done to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and to personalize treatment depending on the subtype of cancer.
The next step for the team will be to test and validate the presence of these newly described biomarkers in glioblastoma patients.