A protein called FEN1 may be a weak spot in glioblastoma
Original title: Integrated genetic screening identifies FEN1 as a selective vulnerability and temozolomide resistance mediator in glioblastoma stem cells.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done on cells in a lab, not in people. It is a very early step.
This was only done in lab dishes and in mice.
The short version
Blocking one protein killed tough 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 cells in lab tests.
What was studied. Researchers took 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 stem cells from patients. They used gene editing to switch off genes one at a time. They looked for genes the cells need to stay alive.
What they found. A gene called FEN1 was one the cells needed. Turning it off slowed the cells down. It also helped mice with these tumors live longer. A drug that blocks FEN1 killed aggressive tumor cells but left healthy brain stem cells alone. The drug worked together with temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary, a common chemo drug, but only in some of the cells.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: 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 often comes back after treatment. This work points to a possible target for future drugs. It may one day help chemo work again in tumors that stopped responding.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. The work was done in lab dishes and in mice. No person was given a FEN1 drug in this study. It is not a cure. It is far from anything a doctor can offer today, and it may never get there.
Source: PubMed, September 21, 2026 · Read the original
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