Current Immunotherapies for Glioblastoma Multiforme

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive malignant tumor found in the central nervous system. Currently, standard treatments in the clinic include maximal safe surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy and are mostly limited by low therapeutic efficiency correlated with poor prognosis. Immunotherapy, which predominantly focuses on peptide vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, checkpoint inhibitor therapy, and oncolytic virotherapy, have achieved some promising results in both preclinical and clinical trials. The future of immune therapy for GBM requires an integrated effort with rational combinations of vaccine therapy, cell therapy, and radio- and chemotherapy as well as molecule therapy targeting the tumor microenvironment.

Keywords: checkpoint inhibitors; glioblastoma multiforme; glioma; immunotherapy; vaccines.

Figure 1

CAR T-cell therapy. CAR-T cells produce an artificial T cell receptor that has big tumor-specific surface antigens.

Figure 2

Blockade of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Engagement of CTLA-4 with its ligands CD80/CD86 can prevent the ligands binding to the T-cell activation and proliferation. Engagement of PD-1 with one of its ligands, PD-L1, can decrease the T-cell tumor lytic capacity and induces T-cell anergy.