Innovative aptamer approaches in glial tumor diagnostics and therapy: Progress and future directions

Glial tumors, particularly glioblastomas, remain among the most challenging cancers to diagnose and treat due to their heterogeneity, infiltrative nature, and the protective blood-brain barrier that impedes drug delivery. Aptamers-short, single-stranded nucleic acids selected for high-affinity target binding-have emerged as promising agents in neuro-oncology, offering advantages such as high specificity, low immunogenicity, and superior tissue penetration compared to conventional antibodies. This review outlines recent advancements in aptamer-based technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of glial brain tumors. We describe the use of aptamers in molecular imaging, liquid biopsy platforms, intraoperative tumor visualization, and the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents, including small molecules, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and immunomodulators. The integration of aptamer systems with nanotechnology and AI is accelerating the development of sensitive, non-invasive diagnostic tools and multifunctional theranostic platforms.