A blood test using immune cells may help find glioma and check if it returns
Original title: Sensitive Glioma Detection and Recurrence Monitoring Using a Machine Learning Model Based on Circulating Monocytes
How far along is this research?
This is a preprint. Other scientists have not checked it yet, so treat it as an early signal rather than an answer.
It was tested on blood from people, but it is not yet a test you can get.
The short version
Researchers built a computer tool that reads certain blood cells to look for glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary.
What was studied. Researchers looked at a type of white blood cell, called monocytes, in the blood of people with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary. They used these cells to teach a computer tool to spot glioma. The tool first learned from 107 people.
What they found. People with glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary had more of these blood cells, and the cells showed a pattern all their own. In a new group of 567 people, the tool still did well at telling glioma apart from healthy people and other tumors. It also did well at finding tumors that came back, in 51 samples from after surgery.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Someday, a simple blood draw might help doctors find glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary or check if it has come back. In a small follow-up of 30 patients, lower tool scores after surgery went along with more time before the tumor grew again.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a test you can get today. It was built and checked in research groups, and it still needs more study. It does not treat glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary, and it is not a cure. For now, keep following the checkup plan from your care team.
Source: medRxiv (preprint), September 9, 2026 · Read the original
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