Glioblastoma Multiforme Glioblastoma Multiforme, or GBM, is the most aggressive and most common primary brain tumor, but it isn’t quite that simple. GBM has quite a complex background and can start in many different ways, so that’s why I feel I should start from the very beginning of GBM so that you can fully understand what it is all about. Let me start by saying that GBM is the highest grade of glioma brain tumors, so it only makes sense for me to tell where GBM and glioma tumors come from. A glioma is a type of brain tumor that grows from glial cells, cells that support nerve cells with energy and nutrients and help maintain the blood-brain barrier.
There are various types of glial cells, each with a different function. Astrocytes transport nutrients and hold neurons in place, oligodendrocytes provide insulation, myelin, to neurons, microglias digest dead neurons and pathogens, and ependymal cells line the ventricles and secrete cerebrospinal fluid. Glioma is an umbrella term used to describe the different types of glial tumors, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma. Gliomas vary in their aggressiveness, or malignancy. Some are slow-growing and are likely curable, while others are fast-growing, invasive, …show more content…
Secondary GBM isn’t as common over Primary GBM. Anything that says how scientists treated GBM specifically in the past isn’t something that I could find easily, but what I could find was when it was a new type of cancer that no one knew how to treat it was treated with the same protocol of any other new type of cancer. It was analyzed by experimental tests and surgeries until it was better understood on how to treat it. Now, scientists treat GBM depending on how bad it is, but it will include radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Glioblastoma can be difficult to treat because the tumors contain so many different types of
There are various types of glial cells, each with a different function. Astrocytes transport nutrients and hold neurons in place, oligodendrocytes provide insulation, myelin, to neurons, microglias digest dead neurons and pathogens, and ependymal cells line the ventricles and secrete cerebrospinal fluid. Glioma is an umbrella term used to describe the different types of glial tumors, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma. Gliomas vary in their aggressiveness, or malignancy. Some are slow-growing and are likely curable, while others are fast-growing, invasive, …show more content…
Secondary GBM isn’t as common over Primary GBM. Anything that says how scientists treated GBM specifically in the past isn’t something that I could find easily, but what I could find was when it was a new type of cancer that no one knew how to treat it was treated with the same protocol of any other new type of cancer. It was analyzed by experimental tests and surgeries until it was better understood on how to treat it. Now, scientists treat GBM depending on how bad it is, but it will include radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Glioblastoma can be difficult to treat because the tumors contain so many different types of