Gene tests may help predict if brain tumors return after surgery
Original title: Genomic and clinical determinants of local and distant intracranial progression following surgical resection of brain metastases.
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 past patient records, not a new treatment.
The short version
Doctors checked gene changes in brain tumors to see whose tumors came back.
What was studied. Researchers looked back at records for 228 patients at one hospital. All had surgery to remove cancer that had spread to the brain. The removed tissue was tested for gene changes.
What they found. The tumor came back in the same spot in 110 patients (48.2%). New spots grew elsewhere in the brain in 98 patients (43%). The most common gene change was in TP53: A gene checked on the tumor tissue. Whether it has changed is one of the findings used to name an astrocytoma. Ask your team whether the change they found was in the tumor only. See the glossary (61.6%), then KRAS (31.2%). Some gene changes went with a higher risk of return, and drug treatment after surgery went with a lower risk.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Gene tests on removed tumor tissue might one day help doctors judge your risk. That could help plan scans and follow-up visits. The study also tied drug treatment after surgery to less tumor return.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean a new treatment is ready. It was a look back at old records at one hospital, not a trial. It does not prove gene changes cause tumors to come back. It is not a cure and does not change care today. The authors say more study is needed first.
Source: PubMed, October 10, 2026 · Read the original
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