Non-cytotoxic therapies for malignant gliomas

Malignant gliomas cause 2% of cancer deaths in western countries, and even the most intensive combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy cannot be curative. New chemotherapeutic drugs and alternative therapeutic modalities are strongly needed. Huge efforts are directed towards the development of innovative strategies for targeting and mending the specific molecular alterations in tumor cells (translational research). This review aims to summarize the most promising lines of investigational research in the field of neuro-oncology, such as non-cytotoxic drugs, immunotoxins, inhibitors of angiogenesis and gene therapy approaches, which will probably offer new therapy options for brain tumor patients.