Glioblastoma, John McCain’s Form of Brain Cancer, Carries Troubling Prognosis - nytimes

Senator John McCain’s staff announced on Wednesday that he has a brain tumor called a glioblastoma. The diagnosis was based on a biopsyof the tissue removed from his brain on Friday during surgery at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix.

What sort of brain cancer is this?
Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain tumor. It originates in the brain; it does not spread there from another part of the body. The cause is not known.

This tumor has no relation to melanoma, the skin cancer for which Mr. McCain was treated in the past.

How common is glioblastoma?
An estimated 12,390 new cases were expected in 2017, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. The risk that it will develop increases with age.

How is glioblastoma treated?
Like most cancers, glioblastoma is treated with surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, then radiation and chemotherapy. 

The tumor almost always grows back in less than a year. When it recurs, surgeons usually operate again.

Dr. Mitchel S. Berger, a neurosurgeon and glioblastoma expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said the tumor should be genetically sequenced to look for mutations indicating that the cancer might be especially sensitive to a certain drug, possibly an experimental one.- Read More

Glioblastoma, John McCain’s Form of Brain Cancer, Carries Troubling Prognosis

John McCain Has Brain Cancer, Senator's Office Says - The New York ...