Abstract
The discovery of microtube structures that link tumour cells in some invasive brain tumours reveals how these cancers spread, and how they resist treatment. See Article p.93 One of the factors making astrocyte-derived brain tumors difficult to treat is their tendency to infiltrate brain tissue. Frank Winkler and colleagues show that the long processes, or tumour microtubes, extended by astrocytomas promote brain infiltration and create an interconnected network that enables multicellular communication and protects the tumours from radiotherapy-induced cell death. The neuronal growth-associated protein 43 is identified as an important factor in this process. Disruption of the network of astrocytoma cell by targeting their tumour microtubes could be a new therapeutic approach.
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