Antibody, T-cell and dendritic cell immunotherapy for malignant brain tumors

Modest improvement in brain tumor patient survival has been achieved through advances in surgical, adjuvant radiation and chemotherapeutic strategies. However, these traditional approaches have been unsuccessful in permanently controlling these aggressive tumors, with recurrence being quite common. Hence, there is a need for novel therapeutic approaches that specifically target the molecularly diverse brain tumor cell population. The ability of the immune system to recognize altered tumor cells while avoiding surrounding normal cells offers an enormous advantage over the nonspecific nature of the conventional treatment schemes. Therefore, immunotherapy represents a promising approach that may supplement the standard therapies in eliminating the residual brain tumor cells. This review summarizes different immunotherapeutic approaches currently being tested for malignant brain tumor treatment.