09/13/2026
Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat brain cancers, with tumors often able to resist radiation and chemotherapy. Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a protein called SET that could help explain how the cancer survives treatment and potentially provide a new way to make existing therapies more effective.
Rather than replacing current treatments, the approach aims to weaken glioblastoma cells so they become more vulnerable to therapies already used against the disease. In laboratory and animal experiments, blocking SET and related proteins reduced tumor formation and increased the sensitivity of surviving cancer cells to radiation.
The research focused on protein phosphatase 2A, or PP2A, an enzyme that helps regulate cellular processes involved in growth, survival and responses to treatment-related damage. The researchers found that glioblastoma cells can suppress PP2A through three proteins: ANP32A, CIP2A and SET.
