Loading...
Classification of cancers is rapidly changing with advances in genomewide studies of glioblastomas (GBMs; Nature 2008; 455:1061). Researchers previously found somatic mutations in the gene for isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) in 83% of secondary GBMs (arising from lower-grade gliomas) but in only 7% of primary GBMs (arising de novo) (Science 2008; 321:1807).
The researchers conducted a follow-up study of IDH genes in a larger dataset of 445 CNS and 494 non-CNS tumors. They screened for mutations in IDH1 and (in tumors without IDH1 mutations) in IDH2. Only glial tumors had mutations. Most (>70%) of the grade II and III gliomas and secondary GBMs had mutations in either IDH1 (in the R132 residue) or IDH2 (in the R172 residue). Analysis in tra…