Glioblastoma and brain connectivity: the need for a paradigm shift.

Despite substantial advances in cancer treatment, for patients with glioblastoma prognosis remains bleak. The emerging field of cancer neuroscience reveals intricate functional interplays between glioblastoma and the cellular architecture of the brain, encompassing neurons, glia, and vessels. New findings underscore the role of structural and functional connections within hierarchical networks, known as the connectome. These connections contribute to the location, spread, and recurrence of a glioblastoma, and a patient's overall survival, revealing a complex interplay between the tumour and the CNS. This mounting evidence prompts a paradigm shift, challenging the perception of glioblastomas as mere foreign bodies within the brain. Instead, these tumours are intricately woven into the structural and functional fabric of the brain. This radical change in thinking holds profound implications for the understanding and treatment of glioblastomas, which could unveil new prognostic factors and surgical strategies and optimise radiotherapy. Additionally, a connectivity approach suggests that non-invasive brain stimulation could disrupt pathological neuron-glioma interactions within specific networks.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of interests AS, LP, and MC report a patent pending (102022000015360; PCT IB2023/057357) for the method to compute the tract density index (“Un nuovo indice prognostico di sopravvivenza nel glioblastoma multiforme basato sulle alterazioni delle connessioni della sostanza bianca cerebrale misurato con tecniche di diffusione RM”). AB declares no competing interests.