Study: Brain cancer has four subtypes

BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say the most common form of adult brain cancer -- glioblastoma multiforme -- is not a single disease, but four distinct molecular subtypes.

The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network scientists said they also found response to aggressive chemotherapy and radiation differed by subtype. Patients with one subtype treated with the strategy appeared to succumb to their disease at a rate approximately 50 percent slower than patients treated with less aggressive therapy. This effect was seen to a lesser degree in two of the subtypes and not at all in the fourth subtype.

The researchers said although their findings do not affect current clinical practice, the study's results might lead to more personalized approaches to treating groups of glioblastoma multiforme cancer patients based on their genomic alterations.

The study by the Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network -- a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute -- appears in the Jan. 19 issue of the journal Cancer Cell.