Expanding the scope of candidate prognostic marker IGFBP2 in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. Unfortunately, it has a very poor prognosis and no cure. In a recent paper by Yuan et al. ( (2019), DOI:10.1042/BSR20190045) RNAscope was used to detect insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 () mRNA in glioblastoma biopsies. The study revealed that patients with high levels of mRNA had shorter survival and that transcript level was an independent prognostic factor. It is also of value to determine the prognostic effect of on established biomarkers such as isocitrate dehydrogenase () mutations or telomerase reverse transcriptase () promoter mutation. In the present study, the combination of having a promoter mutation, and at the same time a high level of mRNA, was associated with very poor survival rates. It was concluded that predicts the survival of the patients with promoter mutation. This finding may have important implications for glioblastoma prognosis. IGFBP2 re-emerges as a candidate biomarker and potential therapeutic target in glioma. Further research into its functional roles during glioma progression may provide additional insights into this deadly disease.