Personalized medicine may help Sen. John McCain: A pathology expert weighs in

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was diagnosed with a glioblastoma earlier this month. Pathologists may turn to personalized medicine to determine the best treatment for the aggressive form of brain cancer, an expert said.

Eyas Hattab, MD, chair of the College of American Pathologists' neuropathology committee, explained how personalized medicine helps pathologists classify glioblastoma tumors into two main categories based on their genetic makeup.

About 90 percent of glioblastomas are what Dr. Hattab calls "bad actors," which usually have a survival period of less than one year. The remaining 10 percent may survive for five years or longer.

"While these tumors appear identical under the microscope, a tumor's response to therapy differs from one patient to another depending on certain molecular characteristics. Through molecular testing, the laboratory is able to predict which tumors will respond better to certain chemotherapeutic and radiation therapies," he said.

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