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. 2013 Mar 1;1(1):19-28.
doi: 10.1007/s40139-012-0006-3.

Inflammation and Gliomagenesis: Bi-Directional Communication at Early and Late Stages of Tumor Progression

Rui Pedro Galvão  1 , Hui Zong
Affiliations

Inflammation and Gliomagenesis: Bi-Directional Communication at Early and Late Stages of Tumor Progression

Rui Pedro Galvão et al. Curr Pathobiol Rep. .

Abstract

Inflammation has been closely linked to various forms of cancer. Less is known about the role of inflammation in glioma, especially at the initiation stage. In this review, we first describe the unique features of the immune system in the brain. We then discuss the current understanding of the mechanisms by which glioma cells modulate the immune system, especially how bi-directional communications between immune cells and glioma cells create an immunosuppressed microenvironment that promotes tumor survival and growth. We also address the potential tumor-initiating roles of inflammation in glioma. Finally, we describe several immunotherapy approaches currently being developed to reverse these interactions and stimulate the immune system to eliminate glioma cells.

Keywords: Glioma; Immunosuppression; Immunotherapy; Inflammation; Microglia; T cell.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effects of inflammation on glioma initiation and growth. While the depicted cellular interactions are known to occur, a link between inflammation and glioma progression has only been suspected. Inflammatory molecules can affect immune cells (pro- or anti-inflammatory) and glioma cells of origin/glioma cells (anti- or pro-growth). Some inflammatory molecules can be pro- or anti-growth depending on the circumstances (see text for details; not all cells or interactions were represented)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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