Erxi Wu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, co-wrote the article, “The Natural History of Extracranial Metastasis from Glioblastoma Multiforme,” that will be published in Journal of Neuro-Oncology

According to the article, the extracranial metastasis is a unique but rare manifestation of glioblastomamultiforme. It is thought to arise from glioblastoma cells disseminated into the blood stream.

The authors undertook a comprehensive electronic search of extracranial glioblastoma and identified 88 cases published between 1928 and 2009. Cases included in the analysis were primary or secondary glioblastomas that subsequently invaded organs outside the brain or spinal cord. Non-glioblastoma histologies were excluded. The result showed that the median overall survival time was 10.5 months (range 0.0 – 60.0 months). The median time from symptom onset to glioblastoma diagnosis was 2.5 months, from diagnosis to detection of extracranial metastasis was 8.5 months and from metastasis to death was 1.5 months. From 1940 to 2009, there has been progressive lengthening of the interval from detection of extracranial metastasis to death, at a rate of 0.7 months per decade (95% confidence interval 0.5 – 1.0 months). Age, gender and site of primary glioblastoma did not influence overall survival. Patients treated with surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and cerebrospinal fluid shunting had the longest average survival interval from metastasis to death when compared to those treated with surgery alone; radiation alone; surgery and radiation; and surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Lung and concurrent leptomeningeal metastasis are prognostic factors of extremely poor outcomes.

This work was led by collaborator Eric Wong, associate professor and director of Brain Tumor Center and Neuro-Oncology Unit, Harvard Medical School. “From our observations, patients with glioblastoma extracranial metastasis have poor prognosis. There has been a progressive lengthening of survival in each successive decade from 1940 to 2000,” Wu said.

Springer.com describes the Journal of Neuro-Oncology as a multi-disciplinary journal encompassing basic, applied and clinical investigations in all research areas as they relate to cancer and the central nervous system. It provides a single forum for communication among neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiotherapists, medical oncologists, neuropathologists, neurodiagnosticians and laboratory-based oncologists conducting relevant research

Wu lab is interested in tumor therapeutic targets, signaling pathways, drug discovery and biomarkers. Wu lab has had a close and long collaboration with Wong’s lab at Harvard Medical School.