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Glowing Revelation
03 April 2013

Glowing Revelation

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive types of brain tumour, and survival is still poor despite the progress that’s been made in other types of cancer over recent years. These tumours lie deep inside the skull, where it’s difficult to reach with surgery or target with drugs. And even if surgeons can get in there, they find that it’s hard to tell where the cancer stops and where healthy brain tissue begins. Thanks to a new fluorescent dye that specifically highlights cancer cells (shown in pink on the right), surgeons can precisely trim out the tumour while sparing the rest. Using this ‘light up’ technique to take accurate tumour samples, scientists have found that glioblastomas are complex mosaics made up of clumps of different cells, each with a distinct genetic fingerprint. This helps to explain why they’re so difficult to treat, and could lead to better therapies in the future.

Written by Kat Arney

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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