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Deciphering brain tumor heterogeneity, one cell at a time

Nature Medicine volume 25, pages 1474–1476 (2019)Cite this article

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Single-cell RNA sequencing characterizes clonal dynamics and distinct cellular states contributing to intratumoral heterogeneity in glioblastoma and medulloblastoma.

GBM is the most aggressive primary brain cancer, which despite maximal treatment, is resistant to currently available multimodal therapies and results in median survival of only 12–15 months5. Earlier sequencing studies of human GBM had classified it into three genetic and transcriptomic subgroups6,7. scRNA-seq studies subsequently revealed that although a GBM may be classified into one dominant subgroup, each individual GBM is still composed of cells from every molecular subtype8, rendering targeted therapies directed at the dominant subgroup ineffective against the whole tumor.

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Fig. 1: Comprehensive profiling of intratumoral heterogeneity in aggressive brain cancers using scRNA-seq.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Maleeha A. Qazi, David Bakhshinyan.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Maleeha A. Qazi, David Bakhshinyan & Sheila K. Singh

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Maleeha A. Qazi, David Bakhshinyan & Sheila K. Singh

  3. Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Sheila K. Singh

Authors
  1. Maleeha A. Qazi
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  2. David Bakhshinyan
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  3. Sheila K. Singh
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Correspondence to Sheila K. Singh.

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Qazi, M.A., Bakhshinyan, D. & Singh, S.K. Deciphering brain tumor heterogeneity, one cell at a time. Nat Med 25, 1474–1476 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0605-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0605-1

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