Brain scans may hint at how the immune system acts in glioblastoma
Original title: Radiomics-Inferred Immune Programs Map Therapeutic Contexts in Glioblastoma.
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 computer study of scans and records already collected, not a treatment.
The short version
Researchers used MRI scans to guess what the immune system is doing inside a brain tumor.
What was studied. Researchers looked at MRI scans and records from 223 people with 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 at one hospital. They then tested their computer model on 98 more people from a separate group. Gene data from 88 of those people was also used.
What they found. A computer model built from scan features helped predict how long people lived. It kept working in the separate group of people, not just the first one. Adding the scan features to normal clinical information made the predictions better. Using gene data, the tumors were sorted into three immune groups: 12 hot, 23 warm, and 53 cold.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Today, checking a tumor's immune state needs tissue and lab work. This study suggests a scan might one day give some of that information. That could help doctors sort tumors and plan future studies.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean there is a new treatment. No one in this study was given a drug based on these groups. The drug ideas listed were only starting points for future research. The team says the work must be tested again, and tested ahead of time in new patients, before it can be used in care. It is not a cure or a promise of one.
Source: PubMed, September 2, 2026 · Read the original
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