Of all the many forms cancer can take, those that arise in the brain can be among the hardest to treat.

A type of tumor known as glioma is a particularly formidable example. These malignant growths arise from glial cells or their precursors in the brain or spinal cord; the worst form – glioblastoma – has a 5-year survival rate of just 5 to 7 percent.

Part of the reason gliomas are so insidiously difficult to treat is that they actively exploit the brain’s crucial functions to feed their growth.