Ferroptosis as a therapeutic target in glioblastoma: Mechanisms and emerging strategies

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most prevalent malignant brain tumor. Treating this type of cancer is challenging due to its high heterogeneity, rapid cell growth, and highly malignant nature, which results in a poor prognosis. A key feature of GBM's malignancy is that it resists drug treatments and evades cell death mechanisms. Ferroptosis is a promising therapeutic avenue for combating drug-resistant cancers because it is a recently discovered mechanism of programmed cell death that oxidizes membrane lipids and is triggered by an accumulation of reactive oxygen species. Recent findings suggest that ferroptosis is an innovative path for improving human GBM therapy. More exploration of the regulatory pathways and interactions of ferroptosis is essential to developing effective therapeutic strategies for this aggressive type of cancer. Inducing ferroptosis or integrating it with current treatments may present an opportunity to improve outcomes in GBM patients. This review investigates the role of ferroptosis in GBM and identifies its important molecular mediators. It also explores promising therapeutic strategies that target ferroptosis as a novel approach for GBM treatment.