ROCHESTER, Minn. — Clinicians typically classify meningiomas — the most common type of brain tumor — into three grades, ranging from slow-growing to aggressive. Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D. But a new multi-institutional study suggests that appearances may be deceiving. If a tumor shows activity in a gene called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), it tends to recur more quickly, even if it looks low-grade under the microscope. The findings, published in Lancet Oncology, could significantly change how doctors diagnose and treat meningiomas. “High TERT expression is strongly linked to faster disease progression,” says Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon at…