A brain scan before surgery may show which gliomas are likely to grow
Original title: Preoperative tumor cerebral blood flow measured by arterial spin labeling predicts enhancing tumor volume progression in gliomas: a single-center retrospective study.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a look back at scans people already had, not a test of any treatment.
The short version
A scan that measures blood flow in a brain tumor may help show whose tumor is more likely to grow back soon.
What was studied. Researchers at one hospital looked back at scans from 60 people with a glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells. Those are the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4. The grade says how the tumor is expected to act. See the glossary. Most had glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, a CNS WHO grade: A number from 1 to 4 for how a tumor is likely to behave. Since 2021 it is written in plain numbers, not Roman ones. Gene results can set it too. See the glossary 4 tumor. Everyone had a special MRI before surgery that measures blood flow, plus a later follow-up MRI.
What they found. Tumors with more blood flow before surgery were more likely to grow later. The link held up even after the team accounted for age, the time between scans, and MGMT promoter methylation: MGMT is a gene whose protein repairs damage to a tumor's DNA. Methylation turns it down. Your report says how much, and your team uses that when they choose chemotherapy. The line between high and low is not settled. See the glossary status. Blood flow in the tissue around the tumor did not tell them much.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Blood flow on this kind of scan might one day help doctors flag who needs closer watching after surgery. The scan does not use injected dye, so it may be easier on patients. For now it is a possible clue, not a test that changes treatment.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. Nothing here was given to patients to help them. The team looked back at old scans at a single hospital, which is an early kind of study. Results like this can change when other hospitals try the same thing. This is not a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, July 29, 2026 · Read the original
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