Most brain tumor samples at one Jordan hospital never got the key lab tests
Original title: Two-decade clinicopathological spectrum of gliomas at a tertiary center in LMIC: histological profile and the molecular diagnostic gap.
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 is a look back at real patient records, not a treatment being tested.
The short version
At one hospital in Jordan, almost no brain tumor samples got the gene tests that doctors now need to name the tumor.
What was studied. Researchers looked back at brain tumor surgery samples from one teaching hospital in Jordan, taken between 2003 and 2024. After leaving out records that did not fit, they studied 430 samples from 332 patients.
What they found. 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 was the most common diagnosis, 174/430 or 40.5% of the samples. Only 10 samples had an actual 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 test result. That is 2.3% of all samples, and 3.0% of the 329 diffuse gliomas. In another 17.4%, the report said the test was needed but could not be done. IDH results only showed up after 2017, and in fewer than 5% of recent samples.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Doctors today use gene tests to give a 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 its full name. Where those tests are hard to get, the tumor may only get a partial name. That can make it harder to say how the tumor is likely to act. It can also make it harder to choose treatment or join a trial. If testing is limited where you live, you can ask your doctor whether your sample can be sent to another lab.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment, and it does not change anyone's care plan. It is a look back at old pathology records at a single hospital in Jordan. It cannot say what will happen to any one person. It is not a cure and not a promise of one. Other hospitals and countries may look very different.
Source: PubMed, September 15, 2026 · Read the original
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