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On glioblastoma and the search for a cure: where do we stand?

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Abstract

Although brain tumours have been documented and recorded since the nineteenth century, 2016 marked 90 years since Percival Bailey and Harvey Cushing coined the term “glioblastoma multiforme”. Since that time, although extensive developments in diagnosis and treatment have been made, relatively little improvement on prognosis has been achieved. The resilience of GBM thus makes treating this tumour one of the biggest challenges currently faced by neuro-oncology. Aggressive and robust development, coupled with difficulties of complete resection, drug delivery and therapeutic resistance to treatment are some of the main issues that this nemesis presents today. Current treatments are far from satisfactory with poor prognosis, and focus on palliative management rather than curative intervention. However, therapeutic research leading to developments in novel treatment stratagems show promise in combating this disease. Here we present a review on GBM, looking at the history and advances which have shaped neurosurgery over the last century that cumulate to the present day management of GBM, while also exploring future perspectives in treatment options that could lead to new treatments on the road to a cure.

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Fig. 1

Adapted from Ref. [30]

Fig. 2

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Abbreviations

BBB:

Blood brain barrier

BCNU:

Carmustine

CCNU:

Lomustine

CED:

Convection enhanced delivery

CNS:

Central nervous system

CSCs:

Cancer Stem Cells

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

EGFR:

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor

FDA:

US Food and Drug Administration

GBM:

Glioblastoma

MGMT:

O 6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PARP:

Poly ADP ribose polymerase

PARPis:

Poly ADP ribose polymerase inhibitors

p53:

Tumour suppressor protein 53

RT:

Radiotherapy

siRNA:

Small interfering Ribonucleic Acid

TMZ:

Temozolomide

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Acknowledgements

The authors are recipients of subsidies from the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the Fonds Spéciaux de Recherche Scientifique (FSR, UCL), as well as the BEWARE Academia Programme (COFUND). The authors would also like to thank Professor Samuel H. Greenblatt for personal communication.

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    1. Louvain Drug Research Institute, Advanced Drug Delivery and Biomaterials, Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Mounier 73, bte B1 73.12, 1200, Brussels, Belgium

      John Bianco, Chiara Bastiancich, Anne des Rieux, Véronique Préat & Fabienne Danhier

    2. Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate B1.54.10, 1200, Brussels, Belgium

      Aleksander Jankovski

    3. Department of Neurosurgery, CHU UCL Namur, Avenue G. Thérasse 1, 5530, Yvoir, Belgium

      Aleksander Jankovski

    4. Institute of Condensed Matter and Nanosciences, Université catholique de Louvain, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

      Anne des Rieux

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    J. Bianco and C. Bastiancich contributed equally.

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    Bianco, J., Bastiancich, C., Jankovski, A. et al. On glioblastoma and the search for a cure: where do we stand?. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 74, 2451–2466 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-017-2483-3

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