eMedicineLive

Even after removal of low grade glioma, a tumor of the brain, by neurosurgery, the chances of recurrence are high in many patients. And what was worse until now, was the fact that there were no means to predict the cases more likely to have a recurrence. However, a research team from the University of California, San Francisco, has found a molecular marker which can be detected by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and is associated with reduced chances of recurrence.

 

The team collected tissue samples of low grade glioma from 50 patients with the help of image guidance and found a biomarker, 2- HG, in large quantities in certain samples. What was also seen was that 2- HG was associated with a mutation in the IDH1 gene. Low grade gliomas, which are less likely to show recurrence, often have these mutations. Thus, detecting 2- HG can help the doctors in predicting the progression of the tumor. It can also help in assessing the response of the patient to the standard treatment regimes. In case the tumor transforms to a higher grade, more aggressive forms of treatment may be required to beat it.

 

The report, which has been published in the latest issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, however, points out that the imaging technique used to detect 2- HG was highly sophisticated. At present, the MRI scanners used in the hospitals do not have the level of sophistication required for this procedure. According to Dr. Sarah Nelson, the Margaret Hart Surbeck Distinguished Professor in Advanced Imaging at UCSF apart from being a professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, it will be an engineering challenge to develop MRI scanners, specialized for this purpose, in standard hospital settings.

 

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