The signal in the blood is stable, robust and highly informative.
In the laboratories of the University of Manchester, a discovery has emerged that may quietly reshape the human encounter with one of medicine's most feared diagnoses. Scientists have identified two proteins in the blood — F9 and COMP — that can detect glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain tumour, with over 90 percent accuracy. For a disease that has long outpaced the tools used to find it, this signals not a cure, but something almost as precious: the possibility of seeing it sooner.
- Glioblastoma kills most patients within months of diagnosis precisely because it is almost always found too late — patients visit their GP six to eight times before receiving an MRI referral.
- Two blood proteins, F9 and COMP, have been shown to reliably signal the cancer's presence even as the tumour mutates, cracking open a disease that has long evaded consistent tracking.
- The test could replace invasive scans and complex procedures with something as simple and immediate as a Covid lateral flow device — a prospect that reframes how early intervention might work.
- Lead researcher Professor Petra Hamerlik, whose own father died of glioblastoma, is driving the work toward NHS implementation, though regulatory validation means a clinical reality is still roughly a decade away.
Researchers at the University of Manchester have identified two proteins circulating in the blood — coagulation factor IX and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, or F9 and COMP — that can detect glioblastoma with more than 90 percent accuracy. Glioblastoma is the most lethal brain tumour in adults, progressing so rapidly that by the time most patients are diagnosed, meaningful intervention is already out of reach.
What makes the discovery particularly significant is the stability of these markers. Even as glioblastoma tumours mutate and evolve — a quality that has long made the disease so difficult to manage — the two proteins remain reliable signals in the bloodstream. This consistency also opens the door to real-time treatment monitoring, giving doctors a way to assess whether chemotherapy or radiotherapy is working without waiting for imaging results.
Currently, patients typically endure six to eight GP visits before being referred for an MRI scan, a delay that compounds the disease's already devastating trajectory. Professor Petra Hamerlik, who led the study and lost her own father to glioblastoma, envisions a future where a patient presenting repeatedly with headaches could be offered a quick blood test — as accessible as a Covid test — to prompt earlier scanning and intervention. Blood samples taken from patients across surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy phases confirmed that shifts in the two protein markers tracked the disease's progression and treatment response.
The road to clinical use remains long. Further regulatory validation is required before the test can be submitted to health authorities, and Hamerlik estimates NHS integration is roughly a decade away. The research, co-funded by the Brain Tumour Charity with a £1.35 million grant, has been published in Neuro-oncology Advances. It offers no cure — but in a disease where time is the most critical variable, the ability to see it earlier and track it more clearly may prove transformative.
A team of researchers at the University of Manchester has identified two proteins circulating in the blood that can detect glioblastoma with more than 90 percent accuracy. The discovery represents a potential turning point in how doctors might catch one of the brain's most aggressive cancers—one that currently kills most patients within months of diagnosis because it is found too late.
Glioblastoma is the most common and most lethal form of brain tumour in adults. It progresses rapidly, resists treatment, and by the time patients receive a diagnosis, the disease has often already advanced beyond the point where intervention can meaningfully extend life. The proteins the Manchester team identified—coagulation factor IX and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, known as F9 and COMP—appear to act as reliable signals of the cancer's presence in the bloodstream. What makes this finding significant is that these markers remain stable and informative even as the tumours themselves mutate and evolve genetically, a characteristic that has made glioblastoma notoriously difficult to track.
Currently, diagnosing glioblastoma requires complex brain imaging and often invasive procedures. Patients typically see their general practitioner multiple times—sometimes six to eight visits—before being referred for an MRI scan. This delay contributes to the disease's poor outcomes and creates a period of mounting anxiety for patients and their families. Once treatment begins, doctors struggle to know in real time whether chemotherapy or radiotherapy is working or whether the tumour is returning. A simple blood test could change that calculus entirely.
Professor Petra Hamerlik, who led the study and holds the Brain Tumour Charity's chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology at Manchester, has personal stakes in this work. Her father died of glioblastoma. She envisions a future in which a patient presenting repeatedly with headaches might be offered a blood test as straightforwardly as a Covid test—a quick, non-invasive screen that could prompt earlier imaging and intervention. The research team examined blood samples taken from patients during surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, and found that changes in the two protein markers reflected how the disease was progressing and how it was responding to treatment.
The path from laboratory discovery to clinical reality remains long. Hamerlik acknowledges that the test must be validated further before it can be submitted to regulatory authorities. If all goes well, she estimates the blood test could be integrated into the NHS within a decade. The research was co-funded by the Brain Tumour Charity with a grant worth 1.35 million pounds, and the findings have been published in the journal Neuro-oncology Advances. For patients facing glioblastoma and the doctors treating them, this represents a genuine shift in possibility—not a cure, but a way to see the disease more clearly and sooner, which in cancer care can mean the difference between months and years.
Citas Notables
Glioblastoma is one of the most devastating cancers we face. Late detection is among the contributing factors to poor outcomes.— Professor Petra Hamerlik, University of Manchester
Early and accurate diagnosis is absolutely critical for people with brain tumours, yet current tools are limited and often invasive.— Dr Simon Newman, Chief Scientific Officer, Brain Tumour Charity
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does glioblastoma take so long to diagnose in the first place?
Because the symptoms—headaches, vision problems, cognitive changes—are vague and common. Patients see their GP repeatedly before anyone thinks to order an MRI. By then, the tumour has often grown significantly.
And the two proteins you found—F9 and COMP—they're present in the blood of people with glioblastoma but not in healthy people?
Not quite. They're present in everyone, but they appear in different concentrations and patterns in people with glioblastoma. The test reads those patterns.
What makes this different from other blood tests for cancer?
Most tumours change genetically as they evolve, which can make them harder to track. But these protein signals stay stable and informative even as the tumour mutates. That's what makes them reliable markers.
How soon could a patient actually use this test?
We're talking a decade if everything proceeds smoothly—regulatory approval, clinical trials, NHS integration. It's not imminent, but it's a concrete timeline.
What changes for a patient once they have this test?
Instead of waiting months for symptoms to worsen and then undergoing invasive imaging, a doctor could order a blood test. If it's positive, imaging follows quickly. And during treatment, doctors can monitor the blood markers to see if therapy is working in real time, rather than waiting for scans.
Does this cure glioblastoma?
No. But earlier detection and real-time monitoring of treatment response could extend survival and improve quality of life. In cancer, that's significant.