Colony stimulating factor-1 receptor as a treatment for cognitive deficits postfractionated whole-brain irradiation

Whole-brain irradiation (WBI) is commonly used to treat primary tumors of the central nervous systems tumors as well as brain metastases. While this technique has increased survival among brain tumor patients, the side effects of including a decline in cognitive abilities that are generally progressive. In an effort to combat WBI side effects, researchers explored the treatment of colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R) inhibitor. Data show that when a CSF-1R inhibitor is administered with fractionated WBI treatment, there is a decline in the number of resident and peripheral mononuclear phagocytes, a decrease in dendritic spine loss and a reduction in functional and memory deficits. CSFR-1R inhibitors have displayed promising results as an effective counter-treatment for WBI-induced deficits. Further research is required to optimize treatment strategies, establish a treatment timeline and gain a better understanding of the long-term side effects of targeting CSF-1R as a treatment strategy for WBI symptoms. This paper is a review article. Referred literature in this paper has been listed in the references section. The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are available online by searching various databases, including PubMed. Some original points in this article come from the laboratory practice in our research center and the authors' experiences.