The researchers found that the deadliest glioblastoma cells break apart from their “clusters.” These cells are also more plastic, but it is unknown why. Furthermore, initially treating the tumors with chemotherapy or radiation could be doing more harm than good, according to the scientists, because the treatment might “break up the less harmful clusters of cancer cells and spur them to disperse,” making them more plastic. “That hypothesis remains to be tested, but it is clear that the dispersed cells and the clustered cells behave very differently in the tumor.”
The results could lead to more effective treatment options for patients, whose survival rate from the disease is low. The authors emphasized that there is still more about the disease to be discovered, but they now have a better understanding.
