title: Molecular characterizations of glioblastoma, targeted therapy, and clinical results to date.
abstract: During the last decade, extensive multiplatform genome-wide analysis has yielded a wealth of knowledge regarding the genetic and molecular makeup of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). These profiling studies support the emerging view that GBM comprises a group of highly heterogeneous tumor types, each with its own distinct molecular and genetic signatures. This heterogeneity complicates the process of defining reliable intertumor/intratumor biological states, which will ultimately be needed for classifying tumors and for designing effective customized therapies that target resultant disease pathways. The increased understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of GBM has brought the hope and expectation that such knowledge will lead to better and more rational therapies directed toward specific molecular targets. To date, however, these expectations have largely been unrealized. This review discusses some of the principal genetic and epigenetic aberrations found in GBM that appear promising for targeted therapies now and in the near future, and it offers suggestions for future directions concerning the rather disappointing results of clinical trials to date.
authors.affiliation: Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Jayson I L
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Bastien
authors.forename: Katharine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: McNeill
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Fine
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D057890:Epigenomics; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins
keywords: clinical trials; epigenetic; genetic; glioblastoma; targeted therapy