title: Current immunotherapeutic strategies for central nervous system tumors.
abstract: Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising tool in the management of malignant central nervous system tumors. Despite improvement in patient survival, traditional approaches, which consist mostly of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have been largely unsuccessful in permanently controlling these aggressive tumors. Immunotherapeutic strategies offer not only a novel approach but also an advantage in a way other modalities have been failing. Specifically, the capabilities of the immune system to recognize altered cells while leaving normal cells intact offer tremendous advantage over the conventional therapeutic approaches. This article summarizes our current understanding of immunotherapeutic treatment modalities used in clinical trials for management of malignant central nervous system tumors.
authors.affiliation: Neurosurgical Oncology and The University of Chicago Brain Tumor Center, Section of Neurosurgery, The University of Chicago Hospital, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Medina C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kushen
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sonabend
authors.forename: Maciej S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lesniak
mesh_terms: D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016543:Central Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines