Pathology of gliomas and developments in molecular testing

Advances in technology are allowing a molecular characterisation of human brain tumours that is providing a wealth of new information. In this short overview, a summary of the histopathology of the common gliomas is integrated with some molecular data. In some instances, the data are proving clinically relevant with conventional therapies. Some single histological entities are being found to contain a number of molecular subtypes, whereas in others, different histological entities are found to be molecularly similar. The introduction of targeted therapies will necessitate a complete reassessment of the way we characterise tumours, and particularly the adequacy of our pathology reports in a new clinical environment.