Aggressive cancer linked to stroke

Canadian researchers may have pinpointed the primary cause of glioblastoma, Healthing. ca reports, potentially unlocking new therapies for the highly aggressive form of brain cancer. The study suggests the devastating disease — which claimed the lives of Canadian musician Gord Downie and U. S. politician John Mccain — arises as a result of cell mutations that occur during the healing process following a stroke or other brain injury. The research, published in Nature Cancer, offers hope for patients who live an average of 15 months after a diagnosis.

“Glioblastoma can be thought of as a wound that never stops healing,” said Peter Dirks, head of neurosurgery and a senior scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.