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Review
. 2017 Apr;14(2):256-264.
doi: 10.1007/s13311-016-0496-5.

Toward Personalized Targeted Therapeutics: An Overview

Shiao-Pei S Weathers  1 , Mark R Gilbert  2
Affiliations
Review

Toward Personalized Targeted Therapeutics: An Overview

Shiao-Pei S Weathers et al. Neurotherapeutics. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

In neuro-oncology, there has been a movement towards personalized medicine, or tailoring treatment to the individual patient. Ideally, tumor and patient evaluations would lead to the selection of the best treatment (based on tumor characterization) and the right dosing schedule (based on patient characterization). The recent advances in the molecular analysis of glioblastoma have created optimism that personalized targeted therapy is within reach. Although our understanding of the molecular complexity of glioblastoma has increased over the years, the path to developing effective targeted therapeutic strategies is wrought with many challenges, as described in this review. These challenges include disease heterogeneity, clinical and genomic patient variability, limited number of effective treatments, clinical trial inefficiency, drug delivery, and clinical trial support and accrual. To confront these challenges, it will be imperative to devise innovative and adaptive clinical trials in order to accelerate our efforts in improving the outcomes for our patients who have been in desperate need.

Keywords: Glioblastoma; Glioma; Personalized medicine; Targeted therapy.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Obtacles in the development of personalized, targeted therapeutics in glioblastoma
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pathway alterations in glioblastoma. Overall alteration rate summarized for canonical PI3K/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), p53, and RB regulatory pathways. Permission obtained from Elsevier Publishing Group. The Somatic Genomic Landscape of Glioblastoma. Cell 155, 462-477 (2013)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Umbrella trials versus basket trials. NCI = National Cancer Institute
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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