What Lactic Acid Does in Brain Tumors
Original title: Interaction Between Lactic Acid and Gliomas in the Tumor Microenvironment: Potential Targets for Glioma Therapy.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This looks across many earlier studies rather than running a new one.
This is a summary of lab research, not a treatment people can get.
The short version
Brain tumors make a waste product that may help them grow and hide.
What was studied. This was a review paper, not a new study. Scientists went back over past work on lactic acid, called lactate, in brain tumors.
What they found. Gliomas make a lot of lactate, and it makes the area around them acidic. Lactate also holds back the immune system and is tied to tumors resisting temozolomide: A chemotherapy taken as a capsule, used for some brain tumors. Your team checks your blood counts while you are on it. See the glossary and radiation. How lactate acts is not the same in every kind of 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.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Nothing about your care changes today. Lactate may be a target for future 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 drugs. Trials in people would be needed to know if blocking it helps.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a new treatment. It is a summary of where the science stands right now. Drugs that block lactate have not been shown to help in 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. One such drug has only had early tests in cancers outside the brain. Most of this work is still in the lab. This is not a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, September 8, 2026 · Read the original
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