Emerging Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 September 2024) | Viewed by 1841
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most aggressive tumors of the brain and, despite the continuous research developed over the last few decades, the prognosis for patients remains extremely poor. The current standard of care, the so-called Stupp protocol, includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, typically using the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ). The significant tumor heterogeneity of GBM promotes the selection of resistant subpopulations, leading to tumor recurrence and thus the universally lethal outcome. Moreover, the presence of a population of stem-like cells, the glioma stem cells (GSCs), characterized by the ability of self-renewal and tumorigenicity, contribute to therapy resistance, which remains a significant challenge to overcome. Furthermore, GBM creates a highly immunosuppressive environment with multiple mechanisms of immune evasion, preventing the effective functioning of various immunotherapy approaches. Indeed, phase III clinical studies with immune checkpoint inhibitors and vaccine therapy have been, thus far, disappointing. Remarkably, one crucial obstacle to effective treatment is the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which protects the CNS from environmental toxins, and the difficulty that some therapies have in passing the BBB. The drugs currently in use (chemotherapy drugs, immunotherapy or monoclonal antibodies) are all subject to perfusion differences in tumor vessels, resulting in different drug concentrations in various sites, which affects their clinical efficacy. Given that the currently approved treatments for GBM have largely been inadequate, new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. This Special Issue aims to collect studies on existing and emerging therapies, including clinical trials, with a particular emphasis on the following topics:
- Drug delivery technologies;
- Cell delivery systems;
- Radiosurgical techniques;
- Adjuvants therapies;
- Techniques to overcome the blood–brain barrier (BBB);
- Gene therapy;
- GSCs-targeting therapies;
- Nanomedicine and nanotechnologies;
- Potential GBM small-molecule inhibitors;
- Immunotherapy (immune checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy, oncolytic virotherapy, and vaccine therapy).
Dr. Cristina Pagano
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- glioblastoma
- emerging therapies
- drug delivery
- immunotherapy
- nanomedicine
- radiotherapy
- viral therapy
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.