Glioblastoma Multiforme-A Look at the Past and a Glance at the Future

Gliomas are the most common type of brain tumor that occur in adults and children. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common, aggressive form of brain cancer in adults and is universally fatal. The current standard-of-care options for GBM include surgical resection, radiotherapy, and concomitant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy. One of the major challenges that impedes success of chemotherapy is the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Because of the tightly regulated BBB, immune surveillance in the central nervous system (CNS) is poor, contributing to unregulated glioma cell growth. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in treatment of GBM with emphasis on the significant advances in immunotherapy and novel therapeutic delivery strategies to enhance treatment for GBM.

Glioblastoma Multiforme-A Look at the Past and a Glance at the Future

Gliomas are the most common type of brain tumor that occur in adults and children. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common, aggressive form of brain cancer in adults and is universally fatal. The current standard-of-care options for GBM include surgical resection, radiotherapy, and concomitant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy. One of the major challenges that impedes success of chemotherapy is the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Because of the tightly regulated BBB, immune surveillance in the central nervous system (CNS) is poor, contributing to unregulated glioma cell growth. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in treatment of GBM with emphasis on the significant advances in immunotherapy and novel therapeutic delivery strategies to enhance treatment for GBM.

Pharmacotherapy of Glioblastoma: Established Treatments and Emerging Concepts

Glioblastoma is the most frequent malignant brain tumor and is characterized by poor prognosis, increased invasiveness, and high recurrence rates. Standard treatment for glioblastoma includes maximal safe surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Despite treatment advances, only 15-20% of glioblastoma patients survive to 5 years, and no therapies have demonstrated a durable survival benefit in recurrent disease. In the last 10 years, significant advances in knowledge of the biology and molecular pathology of the malignancy have opened the way to new treatment options. Clinical management of patients (pseudo-progressions, side effects of therapies, best supportive care, centralization in expertise care centers) has improved. In brain tumors, such as in other solid tumors, we have entered an era of immune-oncology. Immunotherapy seems to have an acceptable safety and tolerability profile in the recurrent setting and is under investigation in clinical trials in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients. This review focuses on novel targeted therapies recently developed for the management of newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastomas.