Immunotherapy for malignant glioma: current approaches and future directions.
Traditional therapies for the treatment of malignant glioma have failed to make appreciable gains regarding patient outcome in the last decade. Therefore, immunotherapeutic approaches have become increasingly popular in the treatment of this cancer. This article reviews general immunology of the central nervous system and the immunobiology of malignant glioma to provide a foundation for understanding the rationale behind current glioma immunotherapies. A review of currently implemented immunological treatments is then provided with special attention paid to the use of vaccines, gene therapy, cytokines, dendritic cells and viruses. Insights into future and developing avenues of glioma immunotherapy, such as novel delivery systems, are also discussed.
Sikorski
Christian W
CW
Division of Neurosurgery, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 3026, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Lesniak
Maciej S
MS
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005910:Glioma / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000276:immunology
D016207:Cytokines