Why Do Glioblastomas Often Re-Grow After Surgery?

Why Do Glioblastomas Often Re-Grow After Surgery?

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By Dr. Liji Thomas, MDReviewed by Dr. Mary Cooke, Ph.D.

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• What happens when glioblastomas are resected?
• How does wound healing contribute to glioblastoma regrowth?
• The effect of these changes on tumor growth

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of adult brain tumor, and occurs in a variety of forms. At present, patients with a newly diagnosed tumor are advised to have surgery along with radiation and chemotherapy.

Despite the most energetic treatment using resection, where the diseased tissue is removed surgically, chemotherapy and radiation, patients  typically do not live long. Less than two per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis, the average length of survival is estimated to be only 12 to 15 months.

Patients under 45 years of age and those with a higher KPS (Karnofsky Performance Status) score before surgery, a method of scoring a patient’s functional impairment, have a slightly better prognosis. These patients are more likely to have a total resection (by postsurgical evaluation) and additional chemotherapy.

Glioblastomas result from abnormal growth of the glial cells which form a major part of the brain. In fact, they comprise 90% of brain cells. Glia are support cells of various types that provide mechanical strength and other vital elements to the neurons.

Most glioblastomas begin from a type of star-shaped glial cell called astrocytes, which help to make up the blood-brain barrier. Most glioblastomas begin in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain, and spread in all directions. The ubiquity of glial cells in the brain make tumor spread easy and unpredictable.