You may have seen news recently about someone undergoing brain surgery to remove a malignant glioma, bringing this type of brain tumor into the spotlight. While these tumors are relatively uncommon, they are among the most serious types of brain cancer. Learning what they are, how they’re diagnosed, and how they’re treated can help make a frightening diagnosis a little easier to understand.
A malignant glioma is a tumor that begins in the brain’s glial cells. These cells normally support and protect nerve cells, but when they become cancerous, they can grow into surrounding brain tissue. Because they spread into nearby healthy tissue, malignant gliomas are often difficult to remove completely with surgery. Although they remain challenging to treat, advances in imaging, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and newer targeted therapies are improving care for many patients.
What Is a Malignant Glioma?
Gliomas are named after the glial cells they develop from. Some gliomas grow slowly, while others are considered malignant, meaning they grow more quickly and are more aggressive.
The most common malignant gliomas include:
- Glioblastoma, the most aggressive form.
- Anaplastic astrocytoma, a fast-growing tumor that develops from star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes.
- Other high-grade diffuse gliomas.
Because these tumors grow within the brain, they can affect movement, speech, memory, vision, or personality depending on where they are located.
What Are the Symptoms?
Symptoms vary from person to person and depend on the tumor’s size and location. They often develop gradually but can sometimes appear suddenly.
Common symptoms include:
- Persistent or worsening headaches.
- Seizures.
- Weakness or numbness on one side of the body.
- Difficulty speaking or understanding language.
- Changes in vision.
- Problems with balance or walking.
- Memory loss or confusion.
- Personality or behavior changes.
Because these symptoms can also be caused by many other conditions, imaging tests are needed to determine the cause.
How Is It Diagnosed?
Doctors usually begin with a neurological exam followed by MRI, which is the main imaging test used to evaluate brain tumors.
Advanced MRI techniques can provide additional information about how active a tumor is, how much blood flow it has, and how it responds to treatment. These specialized scans can also help doctors distinguish between active tumor tissue and treatment-related changes after surgery or radiation.
If imaging suggests a glioma, surgery or a biopsy is often performed to confirm the diagnosis. The tumor is then examined under a microscope and may undergo genetic testing, which helps guide treatment decisions.
How Is It Treated?
Treatment depends on the type of glioma, its grade, its genetic features, and the patient’s overall health.
Treatment often includes:
- Surgery to remove as much of the tumor as safely possible.
- Radiation therapy to destroy remaining cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy, most commonly with the drug temozolomide.
- Rehabilitation services such as physical, occupational, or speech therapy when needed.
While surgery is often the first step, removing every cancer cell is usually not possible because gliomas grow into normal brain tissue. For this reason, additional treatments are commonly recommended.
New Treatments Are Improving Care
One of the biggest recent advances has been the development of targeted therapies for certain gliomas with specific genetic changes.
A newer medication called vorasidenib has shown promising results for people with grade 2 gliomas that carry an IDH1 or IDH2 mutation. In a large clinical trial, patients receiving vorasidenib went significantly longer before their tumors progressed and were able to delay additional treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy compared with those who received a placebo.
While this treatment is not appropriate for every type of malignant glioma, it represents an important step toward more personalized care based on the genetic makeup of a tumor.
Researchers continue to study targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and other new approaches that may further improve outcomes in the future.
What This Means for You
Hearing the words “brain tumor” can be overwhelming, but treatment for malignant gliomas continues to improve. Earlier diagnosis, advances in brain imaging, safer surgical techniques, and new targeted therapies are helping doctors better manage these tumors than ever before.
If you or someone you know develops persistent headaches, unexplained seizures, or new neurological symptoms, it’s important to seek medical evaluation promptly. While these symptoms are usually caused by something other than a brain tumor, early diagnosis gives patients the best chance of receiving the most effective treatment.
Source
- Pope WB, Brandal G. Malignant gliomas: current perspectives in diagnosis, treatment, and early response assessment using advanced quantitative imaging methods. Cancer Manag Res. 2014;6:149-162. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3969256/. Accessed August 26, 2026.
- Mellinghoff IK, van den Bent MJ, Blumenthal DT, et al. Vorasidenib in IDH1- or IDH2-Mutant Low-Grade Glioma. N Engl J Med. 2023;389:589-601. Available from: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2304194. Accessed August 26, 2026.
