Current progress of anti-PD-1/PDL1 immunotherapy for glioblastoma (Review)

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common central nervous system malignancy in adults. GBM may be classified as grade IV diffuse astrocytoma according to the 2021 World Health Organization revised classification of central nervous system tumors, which means it is the most aggressive, invasive, undifferentiated type of tumor. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), particularly anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand-1 immunotherapy, has been confirmed to be successful across several tumor types. However, in GBM, this treatment is still uncommon and the efficacy is unpredictable, and <10% of patients show long-term responses. Recently, numerous studies have been conducted to explore what factors may indicate or affect the ICB response rate in GBM, including molecular alterations, immune expression signatures and immune infiltration. The present review aimed to summarize the current progress to improve the understanding of immunotherapy for GBM.