Glioblastoma
A glioblastoma is the most common high grade primary brain tumour in adults. It rarely occurs in children.
Glioblastoma: short summary
Glioblastoma brain tumours are sometimes called glioblastoma multiforme, GBM or GBM4 but are now officially called glioblastoma, IDH wildtype. They’re grade 4 brain tumours, which means they’re aggressive and often called cancerous.
Symptoms include headaches, tiredness, seizures, sight problems, trouble speaking and personality changes.
Glioblastoma brain tumours are often treated through chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and specific drugs. Surgery is also a common option depending on where the tumour is in the brain.
Below we’ll take a closer look at glioblastoma causes, symptoms, prognosis, and treatments.
On this page:
- What is a glioblastoma?
- What are glioblastoma symptoms?
- How are glioblastomas treated?
- What causes glioblastomas?
- How long can I live with a glioblastoma?
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What is a glioblastoma?
Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumour that grows from glial cells. These cells support nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Glioblastoma brain tumours are part of a family of tumours called gliomas. These include other types of tumours that grow from glial cells.
In the past, these tumours were called ‘glioblastoma multiforme’, or ‘GBM’. But, the World Health Organisation put out updates to their classifications in 2021, which means that medical professionals now call these tumours ‘glioblastoma, IDH wildtype’.
What is glioblastoma, IDH wildtype?
IDH stands for isocitrate dehydrogenase. This is a type of gene that your medical team test to find out more about your brain tumour if you’re diagnosed with a glioma.
Your medical team will look at the type of cell that your tumour started in and the IDH gene to see if there are any mutations.
If there aren’t any mutations in the IDH gene, it’s called a wildtype.
Glioblastomas are characterised by the unchanged IDH gene, which is why they’re called ‘glioblastoma, IDH wildtype’.
What grade are glioblastomas?
Glioblastomas are grade 4 brain tumours.
Grade 4 is based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) grading system. Grade 1 and 2 tumours are usually not cancerous and can grow quite slowly. But grade 3 and 4 tumours are more advanced.
Being grade 4 tumours, glioblastomas:
- grow quickly
- are diffuse, which means they have tendrils that reach into other parts of the brain
- are likely to spread within the brain
- can come back, even if they’ve been treated
- are sometimes called malignant or cancerous.
What are glioblastoma symptoms?
Some glioblastoma symptoms are:
- headaches
- nausea or vomiting
- balance problems
- sight problems
- trouble remembering things
- trouble speaking or understanding
- tiredness
- trouble thinking
- depression
- seizures
- personality changes.
It’s important to remember that different parts of the brain control different functions. So the symptoms you experience will depend partly on where the tumour is in your brain. They’ll also depend on the treatment you receive.
For more about the symptoms of a brain tumour, click the button below.
How are glioblastomas treated?
The treatment for glioblastoma depends on the person, where the tumour is sitting in the brain, and other specific things. But, these are common treatments:
Generally, if you’re well enough, you’ll have neurosurgery to take out as much of the tumour as possible.
Once your wound has healed, you might also have chemotherapy, radiotherapy or both.
More about glioblastoma treatment
Surgery for glioblastoma
Surgery is a very common treatment option for glioblastoma. It’s often the first type of treatment that your medical team will suggest.
Surgery for glioblastoma is done by a specialist doctor called a neurosurgeon. Your neurosurgeon will try to remove as much of the tumour as possible.
Before surgery, you may want to ask your healthcare team about:
- 5-ALA. A surgical aid that can help surgeons remove more of a tumour
- biobanking. A method of storing a sample of your tumour for future research.
- clinical trials. Experiments into new ways of treating brain tumours.
Sometimes surgery isn’t always possible. If your tumour is too close to an important part of your brain, it might be too risky.
If this is the case, your medical team will talk with you about other treatments that could work.
Chemotherapy for glioblastoma
Chemotherapy is a type of treatment that uses tumour-fighting drugs to destroy your brain tumour cells.
Your medical team might use this as your main treatment. But, it might be used alongside other treatments like surgery or radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy can be given as an injection or drip, or can be taken as a pill. Your surgeon might even place a chemotherapy wafer into your brain during your surgery.
Your medical team will plan out your chemotherapy treatments over week or months. This will be specific to you.
Radiotherapy for glioblastoma
Radiotherapy uses beams of radiation to fight brain tumour cells. It is targeted to affect as much of the tumour and as few healthy cells as possible.
Radiotherapy is often used after surgery to try to destroy any tumour cells that are still there or to stop a tumour from growing back. It could also be used if surgery isn’t an option.
Your medical team will decide on the right treatment plan for you. You might need just one high-dose treatment or you might need multiple sessions.
Radiotherapy sessions don’t take very long.
Trial finds DCVax-L can prolong the lives of those living with a glioblastoma
A major phase III clinical trial has found that novel treatment DCVax®-L can prolong the lives of people diagnosed with a new or recurrent glioblastoma.
What causes glioblastomas?
As with most brain tumours, medical professionals aren’t sure why glioblastoma tumours start growing. But, they do understand some of the risk factors involved.
It’s important to know that there is nothing you could have done, or avoided doing, that would have caused you or somebody you know to develop a brain tumour.
Glioblastoma research
Read about the research we are funding to help our understanding of how and why this tumour type forms and develop new, effective treatments.
How long can I live with a glioblastoma?
Nobody can be sure about what will happen to you if you’e diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumour.
Your healthcare team may give you a prognosis, which is an estimate based on your tumour type and current situation. But, they won’t be able to know things specific to you, like how well you might respond to treatment.
Click the button below to learn more about prognosis.
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