A fast lab test during surgery may help tell two brain tumors apart
Original title: Intraoperative Flow Cytometry for the Differentiation of Glioblastomas from Metastatic Brain Tumours: A Preliminary Prospective 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 small early study in people, and the authors say it is not ready to guide care for one patient.
The short version
A quick test on tumor tissue during surgery showed some differences between glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary and cancer that spread to the brain, but it was not accurate enough to guide care for one person.
What was studied. Doctors at one hospital tested tumor tissue from 52 people during brain surgery. That included 40 glioblastomas and 12 tumors that had spread to the brain from cancer elsewhere. The test, called flow cytometry, looks at tumor DNA and how fast cells divide. A first result comes back in about 5 to 6 minutes.
What they found. As a group, the tumors that spread to the brain had more cells that were dividing. That measure was 24.5% in those tumors and 12.0% in glioblastomas. Odd amounts of DNA showed up in 6 of 12 tumors that spread to the brain, and in 5 of 40 glioblastomas. When the test was used to sort one tumor from another, it was right about 75.0% of the time.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This test is fast and might one day give surgeons extra information while they operate. For now, it is only a possible add-on to the standard way a pathologist checks tissue during surgery. It would not replace that check.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. The test does not treat a tumor, and it is not a cure. It was a small, early study at one hospital, with only 12 tumors that had spread to the brain. The authors say plainly that these results cannot be used to make a diagnosis for one patient right now. Larger studies are needed before this could become part of everyday care.
Source: PubMed, August 18, 2026 · Read the original
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