The Three-Layer Concentric Model of Glioblastoma: Cancer Stem Cells, Microenvironmental Regulation, and Therapeutic Implications

Figure 1

The three GBM layers identified by MRI analysis. Through radiological imaging we identified three layers in the GBM mass, classified as core, intermediate layer, and peripheral/hyper-vascularized tumor area. The intermediate area has been considered as the transition area in between the inner core and the peripheral layer (contrast enhancing ring). The surgical procedure was monitored by intraoperative imaging (neuronavigational setting). The neurosurgical resection of the peripheral regions had been done along the tumor/normal brain interface with the effort to avoid normal cells to be included in the specimen.