A special MRI scan may help tell two midline brain tumors apart
Original title: Non-invasive differentiation of diffuse midline glioma and midline glioblastoma using DCE-MRI perfusion parameters and machine learning classification in pediatric and young adult patients.
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 look back at scans from people, and it is a test, not a treatment.
The short version
Doctors tested a type of MRI scan to tell two similar brain tumors apart without surgery.
What was studied. Researchers looked back at scans from 62 patients with midline gliomas. 30 had midline 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 32 had diffuse midline glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary. Each had a special MRI that shows blood flow inside the tumor.
What they found. The two tumor types had different blood flow readings. Diffuse midline glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are given a grade from 1 to 4 describing how the tumor is expected to behave. See the glossary showed lower readings than midline 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. A computer program used three of these readings together. It sorted the tumors correctly 76.67% of the time in testing.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: These two tumors look alike on normal scans but need different treatment. Taking a tissue sample from the middle of the brain is hard and risky. A scan like this might one day help doctors tell them apart without surgery.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment, and it is not a cure. It was a look back at old scans, not a trial. The computer still got some cases wrong. Doctors do not use this to decide care today. It needs much more testing in more patients first.
Source: PubMed, August 31, 2026 · Read the original
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