Malignant Transformation of Glioblastoma: One Step at a Time

Summary: In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Kim and colleagues characterize the transcriptional and epigenomic changes associated with gradual transformation of murine subventricular zone neural stem cells into glioblastoma, identifying an intermediary precancerous stage. Analysis of human glioblastoma and tumor-free subventricular zone tissues hints at the presence of precancerous cells with transcriptional similarity to murine precancerous cells and distinct aneuploidy from the bulk tumor. See related article by Kim et al., p. 1377