Malignant (cancerous) brain tumors are responsible for 15,000-plus deaths every year in the United States. Around 49% of malignant brain tumors are glioblastomas, so being told you or someone you love has one is frightening. This problem worsens when you hear or read inaccurate information about the condition.
At Nova Neuroscience, we want everyone with a glioblastoma diagnosis, their family, and their friends to know what’s true, so they have the best foundation to cope with their diagnosis.
Here are our top glioblastoma myths and facts.
Fact: Glioblastoma is a specific type of malignant brain tumor.
Brain tumors include many different conditions. Some grow slowly and remain noncancerous, while others grow quickly and invade nearby tissue. Glioblastoma, often shortened to GBM, is an aggressive type of glioma.
Glioblastoma grows into surrounding brain tissue rather than forming a neat boundary. This infiltrative growth helps explain why treatment usually involves multiple approaches.
Fact: Doctors grade primary brain tumors rather than using the staging system common in conditions like breast or lung cancer.
Glioblastoma is a grade 4 tumor. The grade describes how abnormal the tumor cells look and how aggressively the tumor behaves. Calling it stage 4 can create confusion because primary brain tumors rarely spread to distant organs as many other cancers do.
Glioblastoma is serious because it can grow rapidly and infiltrate important parts of your brain, not because it commonly spreads throughout the body.
Fact: Headaches are extremely common and usually have causes unrelated to a brain tumor.
Glioblastoma can cause headaches, but symptoms depend heavily on the tumor’s size and location. Possible signs can include:
A new neurological symptom doesn’t automatically mean cancer, but persistent, worsening, or unusual symptoms deserve medical assessment.
Doctors commonly use brain MRI when they suspect a brain tumor. Imaging can show a tumor’s size and location, but we generally need tumor tissue from a biopsy or surgery to confirm the diagnosis and analyze its characteristics.
Fact: In most people, they don’t.
Glioblastoma develops when genetic changes cause certain brain cells to grow and divide abnormally. However, doctors usually can’t identify why those changes happen in a particular person.
Most glioblastomas don’t run in families. Rare inherited cancer syndromes can increase risk, and previous exposure to ionizing radiation can also raise the risk. For most patients, though, there’s no clear preventable cause.
Fact: Surgery can play a major role, but glioblastoma cells often extend beyond the tumor we can see on imaging.
Our fellowship-trained neurosurgeon Bülent Yapicilar, MD, aims to remove as much tumor as possible while protecting brain areas that control important functions. However, the tumor’s location could limit how much tissue he can safely remove. In some cases, a biopsy may offer the safest approach.
Because microscopic cancer cells can remain in surrounding brain tissue, treatment commonly continues with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, often with a medication called temozolomide.
Fact: Tumor biology can affect treatment decisions and outlook.
Laboratory testing can reveal molecular features that give us more information about a glioblastoma. One example involves a gene called MGMT, which helps cells repair damaged DNA.
Tumors with MGMT promoter methylation may respond better to temozolomide chemotherapy. We consider molecular findings alongside your age, health, symptoms, tumor location, and how much tumor we can safely remove when planning treatment.
This means two people with glioblastoma may follow different treatment paths even when they share the same basic diagnosis.
Fact: Treatment can slow tumor growth, control symptoms, and extend survival, even though it isn’t a cure.
Standard treatment often combines surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Some patients may also benefit from tumor treating fields, which deliver low-intensity electrical energy that interferes with cancer-cell division.
We may use other medications in selected cases, particularly if glioblastoma returns. Clinical trials also continue to investigate treatments including immunotherapy, vaccines, cell-based therapies, and new ways of delivering drugs directly to tumors.
Glioblastoma requires careful diagnosis and a coordinated treatment plan. At Nova Neuroscience, we evaluate brain tumors and help patients understand their findings, treatment possibilities, and next steps.
If you or someone close to you has received a glioblastoma diagnosis, contact Nova Neuroscience to arrange a consultation. Call the Vienna or Woodbridge, Virginia, office or complete the online inquiry form today.
