A common gene change is linked to shorter survival in glioblastoma
Original title: SNP rs2853669 potentially elevates the risk of glioblastoma development and leads to worse prognosis when in cis with mutant TERT promoter in a Japanese cohort.
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 looked back at tumor samples from patients, and no treatment was tested.
The short version
A small gene change may raise the risk of glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary and shorten how long people live.
What was studied. Researchers studied 76 glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary tumors from patients in Japan. Every tumor had a change in a gene called TERT promoter mutation: A change in the switch that controls the TERT gene. It keeps tumor cells from aging out. It is one of several findings your team reads together to name the tumor. See the glossary. The team also looked for a second, common gene change sitting right next to it.
What they found. Of the 76 patients, 37 had the T/T form of the second change, 30 had T/C, and 9 had C/C. The C form showed up more often in these patients than in the general Japanese population, 31.6% compared with 24.5%. When both gene changes sat on the same copy of the gene, people lived 19 months instead of 25 months.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This may help explain why some glioblastomas behave worse than others. In time, a test like this could help doctors know what to expect. Right now it does not change treatment.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment. Nobody was given a drug in this study. It was a look back at tumor samples from one group of patients in Japan. The numbers are averages for a group, so they cannot tell one person how long they will live. This is not a cure, and it is far from everyday care.
Source: PubMed, September 28, 2026 · Read the original
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