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Immunotherapy of Primary Brain Tumors: Facts and Hopes

Robin A Buerki1, Zinal S Chheda1, Hideho Okada2,3,4

  • 1Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

Clinical Cancer Research : an Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
|June 7, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Cancer immunotherapy faces challenges in glioblastoma (GBM) due to tumor characteristics. Novel approaches like oncolytic viruses and T-cell therapy may overcome resistance to checkpoint blockade treatments.

Area of Science:

  • Neuro-oncology
  • Immunology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Cancer immunotherapy, particularly checkpoint blockade, has shown promise in various cancers.
  • Glioblastoma (GBM) remains a significant challenge for brain cancer immunotherapy, with recent clinical trial failures.
  • Factors contributing to GBM's resistance include genetic heterogeneity, low mutational burden, and limited T-cell infiltration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current and emerging immunotherapy strategies for glioblastoma.
  • To discuss the mechanisms behind GBM's unresponsiveness to single-modality immunotherapy.
  • To explore novel approaches that could enhance T-cell responses and overcome GBM's "cold tumor" phenotype.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent and ongoing clinical trials and studies.
  • Analysis of factors contributing to immunotherapy resistance in glioblastoma.
  • Discussion of alternative immunotherapy modalities.

Main Results:

  • Checkpoint blockade has faced significant challenges in glioblastoma treatment.
  • GBM's complex biology presents multiple barriers to effective immunotherapy.
  • Current single-modality approaches are often insufficient to overcome these barriers.

Conclusions:

  • Glioblastoma immunotherapy requires innovative strategies beyond current checkpoint blockade.
  • Novel approaches such as oncolytic viruses and adoptive T-cell therapy hold potential.
  • Overcoming GBM's "cold tumor" status is crucial for advancing brain cancer immunotherapy.

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