A special scan used to plan surgery helped remove more brain tumor
Original title: A New Fluorine-18-Fluoroethyltyrosine Positron-Emission-Tomography/Magnetic-Resonance-Based Tumor Resection Plan Improved the Prognosis of Glioblastoma Patients. A Multicenter Validated 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 done in people at several hospitals, but the scan is not yet part of normal surgery planning.
The short version
When surgeons used a special scan to plan glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary surgery, they removed more of the tumor and people lived longer.
What was studied. Doctors at several hospitals studied 239 people with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, a fast growing brain tumor. 115 of them had surgery planned with a scan called 18F-FET PET, and 124 had surgery planned with standard MRI.
What they found. Surgeons removed all of the visible tumor in 91.3% of the PET group, compared with 72.7% of the MRI group. People in the PET group lived 19.7 months, compared with 16.0 months in the MRI group. The time before the tumor started growing again was 12.5 months, compared with 9.3 months.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: The true edge of a glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary is hard to see on a standard MRI. This scan lit up areas that the MRI missed, and tests confirmed tumor cells were there. Planning surgery this way may help surgeons take out more of the tumor and give people more time.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a cure. The tumor can still come back, and this does not change that. People were not assigned to the two groups at random, so other differences between them could have affected the results. This is one study, and this kind of scan is not part of routine surgery planning at most hospitals. It is also not offered everywhere. Ask your care team what they use to plan surgery.
Source: PubMed, August 4, 2026 · Read the original
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