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Review
. 2022 Feb 2;23(3):1711.
doi: 10.3390/ijms23031711.

Delivering Therapeutics to Glioblastoma: Overcoming Biological Constraints

Elza N Mathew  1 , Bethany C Berry  1 , Hong Wei Yang  1 , Rona S Carroll  1 , Mark D Johnson  1
Affiliations
Review

Delivering Therapeutics to Glioblastoma: Overcoming Biological Constraints

Elza N Mathew et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most lethal intrinsic brain tumor. Even with the existing treatment regimen of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the median survival time is only 15-23 months. The invasive nature of this tumor makes its complete removal very difficult, leading to a high recurrence rate of over 90%. Drug delivery to glioblastoma is challenging because of the molecular and cellular heterogeneity of the tumor, its infiltrative nature, and the blood-brain barrier. Understanding the critical characteristics that restrict drug delivery to the tumor is necessary to develop platforms for the enhanced delivery of effective treatments. In this review, we address the impact of tumor invasion, the molecular and cellular heterogeneity of the tumor, and the blood-brain barrier on the delivery and distribution of drugs using potential therapeutic delivery options such as convection-enhanced delivery, controlled release systems, nanomaterial systems, peptide-based systems, and focused ultrasound.

Keywords: brain tumor; drug delivery; glioblastoma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Challenges to delivery of therapeutics to glioblastoma and the currently available drug delivery techniques.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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