Fig. 2: Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining in the patient’s recurrent and metastatic tumor.

IHC staining of the patient’s recurrent and metastatic glioblastoma (GB) tumor samples highlights the expression of markers associated with mesenchymal transition (EMT), including GFAP and vimentin. These markers indicate cellular plasticity, correlated with enhanced invasive potential and metastatic behavior in GB. Panels (a, h) show beta-catenin with negative (0) staining, indicating no detectable expression in the analyzed tumor cells, while panels (b, i) demonstrate desmin with negative (0) staining, reflecting its absence in the tumor. Panels (c, j) display strong positive (+3) staining for GFAP, suggesting potential involvement in tumor invasiveness. Panels (d, k) show myogenin with negative (0) staining, indicating its absence in the tumor, and panels (e, l) depict p53 with negative (0) staining, indicating no overexpression in the analyzed samples. Panels (f, m) highlight SMA with negative (0) staining, reflecting no significant expression. In contrast, panels (g, n) show vimentin with strong positive (+3) staining, supporting its role as a marker of mesenchymal transition in glioblastoma. Based on standardized scoring, each marker’s staining intensity is categorized as Negative (0) or Positive (+3). The combined positive staining for GFAP and vimentin provides evidence supporting mesenchymal transition and enhanced invasive and metastatic potential in GB. GFAP Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, SMA Spinal Muscular Atrophy, IDH1&2 Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, WT wild-type, TERT Telomerase reverse transcriptase, MUT Mutated, EGFR Epidermal growth factor receptor.