A brain scan may show a key gene change in glioma
Original title: Multiscale DCE-BOLD MRI reveals vascular uncoupling patterns for IDH genotyping in adult glioma: A prospective habitat-based 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.
It was tested on scans from people, but it is early research and not used in care yet.
The short version
An MRI scan may help show an important gene change in a brain tumor, without surgery.
What was studied. Doctors studied MRI scans from 132 adults with 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. The scans looked at leaky blood vessels and blood flow in and around the tumor. 52 of the tumors had a change in a gene called IDH gene change: A small change in a tumor's IDH gene. It is the first thing your team looks at when naming an adult glioma, and it can affect which treatments are offered. Your pathology report says whether your tumor has it. See the glossary, and 80 did not.
What they found. The scan patterns differed between tumors with the IDH gene change: A small change in a tumor's IDH gene. It is the first thing your team looks at when naming an adult glioma, and it can affect which treatments are offered. Your pathology report says whether your tumor has it. See the glossary and tumors without it. The best results came from also scanning a band of tissue just outside the tumor. This band was 10 mm wide. But this method was not clearly better than the simpler ways of reading the same scans.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: One day a scan might help show this gene change in a tumor. That could give doctors useful information without an operation. For now, this is only research.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a treatment, and it is not a promise of a cure. It was one study at one hospital, and the group of patients was small. The method is not ready for everyday care. It must be tested in more people, at other hospitals, first.
Source: PubMed, October 30, 2026 · Read the original
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