Despite recent advances in diagnostic modalities and surgical techniques, the prognosis of patients with glioblastoma remains still dramatically poor. Even after successful resections, the 1-year survival rates lie below 50%, since the traditional systemic adjuvant therapy after surgery appears inefficient. Poor prognosis has been associated with the unique challenges presented by the blood brain barrier (BBB), which hinders the concentration of chemotherapeutic agents able to reach tumors and mitigates the effects of systemic delivery. Therefore, there is a need for alternative treatment approaches which overcome the BBB and have a lesser toxicity profile.
Several novel therapeutic strategies are currently being explored in early-phase clinical trials for the treatment of glioblastoma, including selective intra-arterial or intra-nasal approaches, in addition to direct low- and high-pressure drug delivery in the tumor cavity or eloquent solid tumor. Further, targeted therapies leveraging nanoparticles, and autologous vaccines appear as promising alternatives. Other options focus on temporarily modifying the BBB, such as using focused ultrasound, or directly destroying tumor cells, such as with photodynamic or thermal therapy.
This Research Topic welcomes manuscripts exploring novel local and targeted therapeutic approaches for the treatment of glioblastoma, in particular those which contribute towards more efficient drug delivery escaping the BBB, or direct local treatment of the tumor.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Despite recent advances in diagnostic modalities and surgical techniques, the prognosis of patients with glioblastoma remains still dramatically poor. Even after successful resections, the 1-year survival rates lie below 50%, since the traditional systemic adjuvant therapy after surgery appears inefficient. Poor prognosis has been associated with the unique challenges presented by the blood brain barrier (BBB), which hinders the concentration of chemotherapeutic agents able to reach tumors and mitigates the effects of systemic delivery. Therefore, there is a need for alternative treatment approaches which overcome the BBB and have a lesser toxicity profile.
Several novel therapeutic strategies are currently being explored in early-phase clinical trials for the treatment of glioblastoma, including selective intra-arterial or intra-nasal approaches, in addition to direct low- and high-pressure drug delivery in the tumor cavity or eloquent solid tumor. Further, targeted therapies leveraging nanoparticles, and autologous vaccines appear as promising alternatives. Other options focus on temporarily modifying the BBB, such as using focused ultrasound, or directly destroying tumor cells, such as with photodynamic or thermal therapy.
This Research Topic welcomes manuscripts exploring novel local and targeted therapeutic approaches for the treatment of glioblastoma, in particular those which contribute towards more efficient drug delivery escaping the BBB, or direct local treatment of the tumor.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.