A team from Pennsylvania State University in the United States has developed a blood test designed to reveal biomarkers linked to the most aggressive form of brain cancer. The findings were published in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, signaling a potential shift in how this disease is monitored and understood.
Glioma stands as the most common type of primary brain tumor arising from glial cells in the brain or spinal cord and remains among the most challenging cancers to treat. Clinicians routinely rely on MRI and CT scans to track disease changes, yet these imaging studies can be ambiguous when judging whether a patient is truly improving or worsening. This reality underscores the urgent need for a blood-based assessment that more accurately mirrors a patient’s health status.
In the researchers’ investigations, the interleukin-13 receptor alpha 2 (IL13Ra2) shows elevated presence in tumor tissue for more than three-quarters of glioma patients. The study examined tumor tissue and blood plasma from 79 individuals with primary glioma and compared them with the plasma of 23 individuals without cancer.
The scientists focused on extracellular vesicles, small particles shed by cells that ferry cellular material. They observed significantly higher plasma IL13Ra2 levels in glioma patients than in controls, suggesting a genuine tumor-derived signal in the bloodstream.
The team noted that IL13Ra2 likely concentrates within extracellular vesicles released by tumor cells. Plasma IL13Ra2 levels mirrored IL13Ra2 levels found in the patients’ tumors. This biomarker could serve not only for monitoring disease but also as a therapeutic target. Importantly, higher IL13Ra2 levels in both plasma and tumor tissue were associated with longer survival. In one key finding, patients with elevated plasma IL13Ra2 lived about 6.5 months longer on average than those with lower levels. These observations point to the potential of IL13Ra2 as a dual-purpose marker for prognosis and treatment planning [citation].
The implications of this work extend beyond mere detection. If validated in broader clinical settings, a blood test measuring IL13Ra2 could complement imaging, helping doctors personalize care. Such a test might enable earlier intervention, guide therapeutic choices, and provide a more dynamic view of how a glioma patient is responding to therapy over time. Researchers emphasize the need for additional studies to confirm these results across diverse patient groups and to determine how best to integrate this biomarker into standard practice [citation].