Molecular and Immune Influences in the Progression of Gliomas

Glioma is a leading cause of global mortality as the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, accounting for over 60% of all intracranial primary tumors. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is known as the most lethal type of glioma with a poor prognosis, survival time between 12 and 14 months and five-year survival rate of 4-5%. The treatments for glioma are primarily surgical treatment combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, survival rates remain low due to difficulty of surgical resection. Furthermore, chemotherapy remains as ineffective as it typically has difficulties in crossing the blood-brain barrier. There are innate and acquired resistance to chemotherapy and/or targeted therapies. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms which influence the progression of glioma is extremely important to better understand further advances in treatment and management. Molecular mechanisms of glioma remain complex, there are many aspects to consider which influence tumor progression. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are known to influence the biological processes of tumors such as cell proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis. Expression levels of lncRNAs have been studied to become dysregulated in gliomas and this has led lncRNAs to be potential diagnostic biomarkers. There have also been developments in identifying potential blood-based biomarkers to predict the development of glioma in people prior to clinical or radiological signs being presented. Immunotherapy is a developing field of research in oncology and there are studies focusing on the suppression of glioma cells via specific immune targets as a potential therapeutic approach to improving the treatment of gliomas. Studies have demonstrated T cells in GBM helps suppress anti-tumor immunity and the combined blockade of IL-12 and CTLA-4 acts on CD4 (+) cells which leads to increase in effector T cells and inhibits tumor growth. The goal of this special issue is to generate a discussion of the current research around molecular mechanisms and how it influences the progression of glioma and ultimately, the impact this has on patients, prognosis and survival rate.