A protein may help brain tumors resist a new drug
Original title: PHGDH Sustains Oncometabolite Production to Drive Resistance to Mutant IDH Inhibition in Glioma that can be Monitored by Metabolic Imaging.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was done in animals, not people. Most findings at this stage never become treatments.
This was done in cells, in mice, and in stored tumor samples, not as a treatment in people.
The short version
Scientists found one reason a new brain tumor drug stops working for some people.
What was studied. Researchers used 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 cells, mice with brain tumors, and tumor tissue from patients. They looked at why the drug vorasidenib: A medicine approved in 2024 for some people with a grade 2 glioma. The glioma has to have an IDH change. The medicine acts on that change itself. It is taken after surgery. See the glossary helps some people with 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 mutant glioma but not others.
What they found. A protein called PHGDH kept the tumors making a harmful molecule, even during drug treatment. Turning PHGDH off made the drug work again in resistant tumors. Turning it up made tumors resist the drug. Tumor tissue from patients who did poorly on the drug had more PHGDH.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This points to one possible reason the drug fails for some people. It also suggests a scan that might show early on whether the drug is working. Both ideas still need a lot more testing before they could reach regular care.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment to ask for. The work was done in cells, in mice, and in stored tumor samples. No patient was given a new drug in this study. It is very early lab and animal science, far from everyday care, and it is not a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, October 22, 2026 · Read the original
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