Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and malignant type of primary brain tumor, due to its high heterogeneity and aggressive brain invasion patterns. Despite recent advances in imaging and surgical techniques, which allowed a more accurate diagnosis and enhanced tumoral resection while maintaining or even improving neurologic function, current therapeutic options for GBM lack effective long-term impact on disease control and patient survival remains around the year mark. Recently developed stable nucleic acid lipid particles (SNALPs), which were targeted towards brain tumor cells by covalent coupling of the peptide chlorotoxin
(CTX) to the liposomal surface. Stem cells (SCs) have been extensively used as vehicles for the delivery of therapeutic genes to brain tumors due to their remarkable capacity to target tumor cells, when injected either in loco [82] or intra-arterially .Although the molecular basis of tumor tropism of SCs is not yet fully understood, several in vitro studies provided evidence that tumor-secreted cytokines and growth factors, including the vascular endothelial and platelet-derived growth factors (VEGF and PDGF, respectively) act as chemoattractants that promote SC
migration towards tumor cells.
Maria C Pedroso de Lima, Viral and Non-Viral Gene Therapy for Glioblastoma: New Insights into the Treatment of Malignant Brain Tumors
Last date updated on December, 2024