Researchers from MSK have studied the use of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to determine the genetic profiles of gliomas (brain tumors). This could replace brain biopsies with minimally invasive lumbar punctures. MSK’s Dr. Ingo Mellinghoff led the study, published in Nature and reported by Forbes.

Researchers found tumor-derived DNA in 42 CSF samples from the 85 adult patients diagnosed with gliomas included in the study. The use of CSF to sequence tumor DNA may someday determine treatment options for patients for whom a brain biopsy is not an option and could help track changes to tumor profiles over time. Further research will need to determine when tumor DNA becomes discoverable in CSF.

A recent article by Ed Yong in The Atlantic describes how the basics of cancer research may have inadvertently altered results for decades.

Scientists use a growth medium to study human or animal cancer cells in the lab. This medium is most commonly Eagle’s minimal essential medium (EMEM), developed in 1959. EMEM offers cells only the basic nutrients needed for growth. But more recently, researchers have developed new mediums that include many more of the chemicals and nutrients found in blood. And researchers are finding that the medium selected for a study can impact the results.

In the article, MSK’s Dr. Natasha Pavlova says that while the new mediums would help scientists looking at how cancer cells consume nutrients, they are not exact substitutes for blood cells, tissues, and organs. The cancer cells used by researchers, often of a similar age to EMEM, may also impact results. It’s not yet known if they would respond to new mediums more or less like cancer cells behave in a body.

In late December, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a pulmonary lobectomy at MSK to remove two nodules on the lower lobe of her left lung. But what does this mean?

Newsweek answered this question in a recent article, referring to an MSK patient information page for information. Patients with non-small cell lung cancer that has not spread are typically treated with a pulmonary lobectomy, during which surgeons remove the lobe of the lung containing the cancer (the right lung has three lobes and the left has two). This surgery is the most common operation for patients with this type of cancer and offers the best chance of a cure for otherwise healthy people with cancer that has not spread.

Learn more about lung cancer from MSK’s patient information pages.