Washington, January 20: The most common form of brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme, probably is a set of diseases, rather than a single disease, US researchers said on Tuesday.
The team identified four distinct subtypes of the brain tumours, each with unique molecular characteristics, a finding they say may lead to targeted therapies.
The study also found that each subtype of glioblastoma multiforme may begin from different types of cells, meaning each needs a different treatment approach, Dr Neil Hayes of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues wrote in the journal Cancer Cell.
But the findings will not affect how doctors currently treat brain tumours, they said.
Glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, spreads quickly to other parts of the brain, making it difficult to treat. Most people with GBM die within about 14 months of diagnosis.
—Agencies