Immunotherapy for high-grade gliomas
Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumor in adults, with an incidence of five cases per 100,000 persons per year. Grade IV glioblastoma is the most aggressive form and prognosis remains poor despite the current gold-standard first-line treatment-maximal safe resection and combination of radiotherapy with temozolomide chemotherapy-resulting in a median survival of approximately 15-17 months. Tumor recurrence occurs in virtually all glioblastoma patients, and there currently exists no accepted treatment for these patients. Recent advances in novel directed treatment options are showing efficacy and have entered into clinical trials. This review gives an overview of current front-line immunotherapy research in the fields of antibodies, including BiTEs and checkpoint inhibitors, and tumor vaccinations, including peptide and dendritic cell vaccinations. Furthermore, we discuss challenges specific to high-grade gliomas as well as opportunities for combination therapies.
