Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a malignant brain tumor that occurs most frequently in middle-aged and older adults. GBM is a type of glioma, meaning it originates in the glial (connective) cells of the brain. Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor in adults, with about 10,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The majority of those gliomas are glioblastoma multiforme, which in the past few years has struck U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, baseball star Gary Carter, and U.S. Senator John McCain.
GBM is an astrocytoma, which is the most common kind of glioma. An astrocytoma develops from a star-shaped type of glial cell called an astrocyte. Since astrocytes are found throughout the brain and spine, these tumors can occur in a wide variety of locations throughout the central nervous system. Most commonly, however, glioblastoma multiforme develops in the cerebral hemispheres, where it infiltrates into surrounding brain tissue and makes the tumor difficult to remove surgically.
The long-term prognosis for glioblastoma multiforme remains poor, but personalized treatment can extend life from months to years and improve the quality of life (see Diagnosing and Treating Glioblastoma Multiforme). New treatments that were not available even ten years ago now extend the lives of patients with GBM. Innovative clinical trials are underway to test gene therapy, new chemotherapy drugs, and novel delivery systems to attack GBM. (See CAPTIVE clinical trial for recurrent GBM.) The journey, however, often begins with surgery. In this regard, Weill Cornell physicians use the latest in advanced functional mapping techniques and imaging modalities to ensure surgical safety and maximal tumor removal.
The Era of Personalized Medicine
In addition to advanced surgical techniques, our physicians also study the genomics of an individual's tumor to help enhance postoperative treatment options through our Englander Institute of Precision Medicine. This cutting-edge facility and our surgical expertise allows personalization of cancer therapy to a degree unprecedented previously. Please contact us for further information.
What Causes Glioblastoma Multiforme?
Scientists do not yet fully understand the genetic mutations that cause glioblastoma multiforme, but the disease is the subject of intense research and investigation. Find out more about brain tumor research and brain tumor clinical trials at the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center.
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Rod Nordland is an international correspondent at large for The New York Times. In 2019, while covering climate topics in India, he was suddenly diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a malignant brain tumor. He wrote about his experience...
Part of achieving good outcomes for our patients requires defining what success looks like. For a patient with a brain tumor, success means meeting three criteria. First and foremost, we want to do no harm, so the patient should not be...
Our Care Team
- Chairman and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief
- Margaret and Robert J. Hariri, MD ’87, PhD ’87 Professor of Neurological Surgery
- Vice Provost of Business Affairs and Integration
Phone: 212-746-4684
- Chief of Neurological Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist
- Alvina and Willis Murphy Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery
- Director, Brain Metastases Program
- Co-director, William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma
Phone: 212-746-1996
- Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery
- Leon Levy Research Fellow
- Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute
Phone: 646-962-3389
- Director, Neurosurgical Radiosurgery
- Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery
- Robert G. Schwager, MD ’67 Education Scholar, Cornell University
Phone: 212-746-2438
- Chief of Neurological Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
- Co-director, Weill Cornell Medicine CSF Leak Program
Phone: (718) 670-1837
- Vice Chair for Clinical Research
- David and Ursel Barnes Professor in Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Otolaryngology
- Director, Center for Epilepsy and Pituitary Surgery
- Co-Director, Surgical Neuro-oncology
Phone: 212-746-5620
- Director of Neuro-oncology
- Director, Brain Tumor Center, Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center
Phone: 646-962-2185
- Assistant Attending Neurologist, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
- Assistant Professor of Neuro-Oncologist
Phone: 646-962-2185
Reviewed by: Rohan Ramakrishna, M.D.
Last reviewed/last updated: December 2020
Illustration by Thom Graves, CMI