New frontiers for astrocytic tumours

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme, the most common type of primary brain tumour, remains an unsolved clinical problem. A great deal of work has been done in an effort to understand the biology and genetics of glioblastoma multiforme, but clinically effective treatments remain elusive. It is well known that malignant gliomas develop resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy. In this review we evaluated the literature data regarding therapeutic progress for the treatment of astrocytic tumours, focusing our attention on new frontiers for glioblastoma. The research studies performed in in vitro and in vivo models show that the application of hyperthermia using magnetic nanoparticles is safe and could be a promising tool in the treatment of glioblastoma patients. Our efforts are focused towards new fields of research, for example nanomedicine and the study of the uptake and cytotoxic effects of magnetic nanoparticles. The improvement of the quality of life of patients, by increasing their survival rate is the best result to be pursued, since these tumours are considered as ineradicable.