Brain Cancer Research

Brain cancer research explores novel drug delivery methods, immunotherapy approaches, and precision medicine for glioblastoma and other brain tumors.

Our Brain Cancer Analysis

• September 22, 2026Nature MedicinePATHFINDER 2 (NCT05155605)

  Multi-Cancer Blood Test Reaches 60% Positive Predictive Value and 99.6% Specificity in Largest Prospective Screening Study to Date

  PATHFINDER 2, a prospective, interventional cohort study of 35,878 adults aged 50 and older with no clinical suspicion of cancer, evaluated the performance and safety of a blood-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test that analyzes cell-free DNA methylation patterns to detect a shared cancer signal and predict its tissue of origin.

• September 20, 2026Journal of Clinical OncologyLAANTERN (NCT02392078)

  Largest LITT Registry Shows Complete Ablation and Smaller Tumors Drive Survival Gains

  A prospective, 25-center registry analysis of 787 patients treated with laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for primary or metastatic brain tumors — the largest such analysis to date — found that how completely a tumor is ablated, and how small it is to begin with, are the strongest drivers of survival after the procedure.

• August 20, 2026JAMA Oncology

  Meningioma Diagnoses Nearly Doubled in Denmark Over 14 Years — But Most Surveillance Scans Never Led to Treatment

  A nationwide Danish registry study of 8,134 patients found that age- and sex-standardized meningioma incidence nearly doubled between 2010 and 2023, rising from 6.4 to 12.6 cases per 100,000 person-years, while the proportion of diagnosed patients who ultimately received surgery fell from 43.9% to 23.4%.

• August 20, 2026JAMA Oncology

  Industry Now Outpaces Federal Cancer Trial Sponsorship Nearly 5 to 1 — And the Gap Is Widening

  A registry-based analysis of 11,681 US interventional cancer trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov between 2008 and 2024 found that industry sponsors now outnumber federal sponsors nearly 5 to 1 (4.53-to-1 overall), with the ratio widening from 2.72-to-1 in 2008–2012 to 6.44-to-1 in 2019–2024.

• August 10, 2026Journal of Clinical OncologyNRG Oncology RTOG 0539 (NCT00895622)

  10-Year Data Validate Risk-Adapted Meningioma Strategy: Observation, Then Selective Radiotherapy

  Long-term follow-up (median exceeding 10 years) of NRG Oncology RTOG 0539 validates a risk-adapted meningioma strategy: observation after gross total or subtotal resection for low-risk (WHO grade 1) disease, and radiotherapy for intermediate- and high-risk disease.

• July 10, 2026Nature MedicineABTC 1501 (NCT02658981)

  Phase 1 Trial: Anti-LAG-3 Plus Anti-PD-1 Shows Acceptable Safety in Recurrent Glioblastoma

  Open-label, multicenter phase 1 trial (Adult Brain Tumor Consortium, ABTC 1501) of the anti-LAG-3 antibody relatlimab, alone or combined with the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab, in 46 patients with first-time recurrent glioblastoma (GBM)