Immunotherapy for glioblastoma as a means to overcome resistance to standard therapy

Abstract

Abstract High-grade gliomas arising in the central nervous system portend an aggressive course of neurologic devastation with a dismal prognosis for nearly all patients. Treatment strategies for these cancers have yielded minimal headway in the ability to slow the progression of the disease as well as prevent tumor recurrence, which invariably occurs. In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of standard therapies for high-grade gliomas anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III) and glioblastoma (WHO grade IV). This chapter delineates why the successes of immunotherapy for other cancers has not translated in the same magnitude of responses for gliomas. The recently uncovered mechanisms of posttreatment resistance and alterations of the immune landscape are also discussed herein.