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Combining immunotherapy with radiation for the treatment of glioblastoma

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Abstract

Glioblastoma is a devastating cancer with universally poor outcomes in spite of current standard multimodal therapy. Immunotherapy is an attractive new treatment modality given its potential for exquisite specificity and its favorable side effect profile; however, clinical trials of immunotherapy in GBM have thus far shown modest benefit. Optimally combining radiation with immunotherapy may be the key to unlocking the potential of both therapies given the evidence that radiation can enhance anti-tumor immunity. Here we review this evidence and discuss considerations for combined therapy.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA

    Kevin K. H. Chow & Gordon Li

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology-Radiation Therapy, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA

    Wendy Hara

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Michael Lim

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  1. Kevin K. H. Chow
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  2. Wendy Hara
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  3. Michael Lim
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  4. Gordon Li
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Correspondence to Kevin K. H. Chow.

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Chow, K.K.H., Hara, W., Lim, M. et al. Combining immunotherapy with radiation for the treatment of glioblastoma. J Neurooncol 123, 459–464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-015-1762-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-015-1762-9

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