A clearer view of the science
Glioblastoma research brings together unfamiliar language and difficult questions. These guides explain the ideas behind our programme and help you consider how researchers move from an observation to a possible treatment.
Start with the disease
What is glioblastoma? Learn what the diagnosis refers to and why different brain tumours need different explanations.
Causes and risk factors. Understand the difference between a change found in a tumour and an explanation of why a person developed it.
Diagnosis, IDH, and MGMT. Read about how tissue and molecular findings help a clinical team understand a tumour.
Treatment and supportive care. See how treatment and support address different parts of living with the disease.
Read about the research questions
Information and personal care
These guides explain research and general concepts. Your clinical team can relate information to an individual diagnosis and care plan. For further patient information and support, visit Cancer Research UK or brainstrust.
Continue the programme
- What is glioblastoma
Understand what glioblastoma means, how it differs from other brain tumours, and why its biology makes recurrence an important research question.
- Causes and risk factors
Read about how researchers think about glioblastoma causes and risk factors, and why a molecular finding does not explain an individual diagnosis.
- Diagnosis IDH and MGMT
Understand the roles of imaging, tissue assessment, IDH, and MGMT in explaining a glioblastoma diagnosis and informing clinical discussions.
- Treatment and supportive care
Read a brief introduction to glioblastoma treatment and supportive care, including the place of function, symptoms, and personal priorities.
- Why glioblastoma returns
Read about treatment survival and regrowth in glioblastoma, and the distinction between cells that remain after treatment and cells that drive recurrence.
- Cell states and treatment survival
Learn what researchers mean by a cell state, why glioblastoma cells can change state, and how this shapes questions about treatment survival.
- GPX4 and ferroptosis
Understand GPX4, lipid damage, and ferroptosis, and why a possible glioblastoma vulnerability must be considered alongside effects on normal cells.
- The brain environment
Read about why the surrounding brain environment, the location of surviving cells, and treatment exposure matter in glioblastoma research.
- From research to treatment
Follow the questions that connect a biological finding with a possible treatment, from reproducible evidence to selectivity and development planning.