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Enlarge ImageTelling tumor. A genetic mutation could help doctors diagnose deadly tumors in the brain.Credit: Photograph courtesy of Duke Photopath While survival rates for many cancers have improved over the years, brain cancers often remain stubbornly unresponsive to treatment. Now, researchers are turning to genetics and have hit on a gene mutation that can be used to differentiate between the deadliest brain cancers. The find could help doctors more accurately diagnose these devastating tumors. The most common brain tumor, glioblastoma, is also the deadliest. These tumors occur in two forms: primary, in which patients suddenly develop large and highly...

Enlarge ImageIn a bubble. Tracking tiny vessicles of genetic material emitted by tumor cells could help doctors better diagnose and treat brain cancer patients. Credit: Skog et al., Nature Cell Biology Doctors may soon be able to use blood tests rather than invasive biopsies to figure out what type of brain tumors their patients have. The findings, which come thanks to new insights about how tumor cells communicate with their environment, may also bring physicians closer to the goal of more personalized medicine. Cells are chatty, constantly exchanging proteins or electrical signals with their neighbors. For example, tumor cells...