![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mayo-genetics-390x381.png\" "\\"mayo")
\nPhoto Courtesy of Mayo Clinic<\/p>\n
\nPhoto Courtesy of Mayo Clinic<\/p>\n
Clinicians typically classify meningiomas \u2014 the most common type of brain tumor \u2014 into three grades, ranging from slow-growing to aggressive. But a new multi-institutional study suggests that appearances may be deceiving. If a tumor shows activity in a gene called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), it tends to recur more quickly, even if it looks low-grade under the microscope.<\/p>\n
The findings, published Sept. 1 in Lancet Oncology<\/a>, could significantly change how doctors diagnose and treat meningiomas.<\/p>\n \u201cHigh TERT expression is strongly linked to faster disease progression,\u201d says Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D.<\/a>, a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic<\/a> and senior author of the study. \u201cThis makes it a promising new biomarker for identifying patients who may be at greater risk of developing aggressive disease.\u201d<\/p>\n An early warning sign<\/p>\n Meningiomas<\/a> \u2014 tumors of the meninges, the protective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord \u2014 are generally considered benign. But a small subset of these tumors has a mutation in the TERT gene, which is linked to faster growth and a shorter time before the tumor returns after treatment.<\/p>\n TERT is the active part of telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes. In most healthy adult cells, TERT is switched off. But if it becomes switched back on, it can fuel cancer development by driving unchecked cell growth.<\/p>\n In this study, the researchers wanted to see whether high TERT expression, even in the absence of the TERT genetic mutation, also predicted worse outcomes. They looked at more than 1,200 meningiomas from patients across Canada, Germany and the U.S., and they found that nearly one-third of them had high TERT expression despite not having the mutation.<\/p>\n These patients had earlier tumor regrowth compared to those without TERT expression, though their outcomes were better than patients with full-blown TERT mutations.<\/p>\n \u201cTERT-positive tumors behaved like they were one grade worse than their official diagnosis,\u201d says Dr. Zadeh. \u201cFor example, a grade 1 tumor with TERT expression acted more like a grade 2.\u201d<\/p>\n Guiding treatment decisions<\/p>\n The findings suggest that testing for TERT activity could help doctors predict which patients are at higher risk for recurrence and may need closer monitoring or more intensive treatment. \u201cBecause meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumor, this biomarker could influence how thousands of patients are diagnosed and managed worldwide,\u201d says Dr. Zadeh.<\/p>\n \u201cTERT expression can help us more accurately identify patients with aggressive meningiomas,\u201d Chloe Gui, M.D., a neurosurgery resident at the University of Toronto, Mayo Clinic research collaborator and the study\u2019s lead author, explains on a podcast hosted by The Lancet Oncology<\/a>. \u201cThis information allows us to offer treatment tailored to the tumor\u2019s behavior.\u201d \u201cThis information allows us to offer treatment tailored to the tumor\u2019s behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n The team is currently investigating ways to incorporate TERT expression into the clinical workflow. The research is part of a larger effort at Mayo Clinic called the Precure initiative, focused on developing tools that empower clinicians to predict and intercept biological processes before they evolve into disease or progress into complex, hard-to-treat conditions.<\/p>\n Review the study<\/a> for a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding.<\/p>\n Envision yourself working for a global leader in an industry fueled by innovation and growth. Mayo Clinic has opportunities for you. Join us at Florida\u2019s No. 1 hospital by visiting https:\/\/jobs.mayoclinic.org\/<\/a>. For more information on health care topics please visit Mayo Clinic Jacksonville at mayoclinic.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Courtesy of Mayo Clinic Clinicians typically classify meningiomas \u2014 the most common type of brain tumor \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[64,63,336,128],"class_list":["post-122637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-genetics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}