UCSF

Key PointsGlioblastoma is the most frequent and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumour and remains almost universally incurable in both children and adults.Comprehensive molecular profiling studies have greatly broadened our knowledge of the underlying genomic and epigenomic aberrations that are associated with glioblastoma initiation and progression.Genetic lesions result in disrupted epigenetic control mechanisms by altering histone modifications, DNA methylation and gene expression patterns in a large proportion of glioblastomas.Based on recurrent combinations of genomic and/or epigenomic features with distinct patient characteristics, glioblastomas across all ages are being divided into meaningful biological subgroups, which are likely to guide the design of future clinical trials.The complex interplay between the glioblastoma genome and epigenome opens the way for the development of novel innovative therapeutic strategies that are urgently needed to tackle this deadly brain tumour.