Molecular Mechanisms of Glioma Cell Motility

Excerpt

Gliomas are the most common intracranial tumors in humans. The most malignant among these tumors is glioblastoma (GBM), with an incidence of 3–5 out of 100,000 persons in Western countries. GBM arises either de novo (primary GBM) or develops from a lower grade glioma (secondary GBM). The prognosis is poor. GBMs are lethal tumors and even optimal surgical resection, followed by chemotherapy and irradiation, results in a median survival of about 12–15 months. One characteristic that is responsible for GBM malignancy, and its worse prognosis, is the highly infiltrative growth of GBM cells into the healthy brain. GBM cell migration and invasion is a very complex process that is regulated by several factors, which include changes in the migrating cell itself as well as the tumor microenvironment. This chapter provides an overview of routes of invasion of glioma cells, the signaling pathways that drive glioma cell motility, and the processes through which glioma cells modulate their surrounding environment.