Vaccines for glioblastoma and high-grade glioma

Vaccination by administering tumor antigen plus cell-free or cellular adjuvant has garnered hope for more effective, less toxic therapy for patients with malignant brain tumors including glioblastoma multiforme. To determine if this approach demonstrates ample clinical promise, all published reports of vaccination for glioma were evaluated. These reports suggest vaccination is associated with low toxicity and favorable clinical outcomes. The possibility of selection bias is evident in many published vaccine trials, but several of the more recent ones appropriately attempt to account for bias. Effective induction of antitumor immunity is consistently observed, and, in the latest trials, correlates with significant clinical improvement.