Anti-angiogenic and macrophage-based therapeutic strategies for glioma immunotherapy

Eiichi Ishikawa1, Tsubasa Miyazaki2,3, Shingo Takano2

  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan. e-ishikawa@md.tsukuba.ac.jp.

As a new concept of glioma therapy, immunotherapy combined with standard therapies is a promising modality to improve glioma patient survival. VEGF and its signaling pathway molecules not only inhibit angiogenesis but also may reinforce the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, including promotion of the accumulation of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). In this review, we discuss VEGF-targeted therapy as a new treatment option of the TAM-targeted therapy for high-grade gliomas, as well as other TAM-targeted therapies. The authors also discuss the potential of these therapies combined with conventional immunotherapies.

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