Genomic sequencing is changing diagnosis, treatment for patients with brain cancer (Available “UCSF500 Cancer Gene Panel” greatly helped direct treatment approach over standard slide review)

Medical Xpress / University of California, San Francisco / Neuro-Oncology ^ | Apr. 22, 2022 | Yalan Zhang et al

[ConservativeMind]

Patients diagnosed with a type of brain tumor survived for longer when they were treated aggressively with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But far from suggesting that more treatment always leads to better survival, the study by UC San Francisco underscores the critical role of genomic profiling in diagnosing and grading brain tumors.

In the study, UCSF researchers followed 38 patients with a tumor type that was reclassified by the World Health Organization in November 2021, from a grade 2 or 3 glioma, to a "glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype, CNS WHO grade 4," based on its molecular features. The previous diagnosis was determined by traditional microscopic comparisons between cancer cells and normal cells.

The first group of patients survived an average of 24 months, while the second group survived an average of 16 months, the researchers reported in their study.

The results of this study not only led to the treatment objective of the UCSF study, but it also solved a conundrum that had bedeviled neuro-oncologists for years: why some grade 2 and 3 glioma patients progressed slowly and survived for several years, while others advanced rapidly and died within a year or two.

"Historically, we've relied on what pathologists see under the microscope to guide treatment, which can be subjective to the pathologist's experience and the size of the sample collected from the neurosurgeon, said co-author Jennie Taylor, MD, MPH.

Sometimes the final diagnosis is sobering, and sometimes it is joyful—such as the child whose earlier microscopic evaluation had pointed toward a grade 4 tumor, which was corrected to grade 1 tumor after genomic testing, said Solomon. "There's no question that we need a definitive diagnosis to provide the most appropriate treatment plan. That might mean more treatment and it might mean less."

[ConservativeMind]

The “Take Charge Of Your Health” Ping List

This potentially high volume ping list is for health articles and studies which describe something you or your doctor, when informed, may be able to immediately implement for your benefit.

Now keeping a new list (“Common/Top Issues”) for conditions expected to only concern at least 1% of the population. Ask to be on either the “Common/Top Issues” or “Everything” list.

Please email or private message me if you want on or off of a list and of which list you desire.