Drug treatment of gliomas

BackgroundGliomas have specific features in terms of diagnosis, classification and treatment compared to other solid tumors that need to be considered. In particular, the vulnerability of the affected organ the brain requires careful planning of surgical, radiotherapeutic and systemic treatment as well as careful support and treatment counseling of affected patients.MethodA selective literature search was carried out.ResultsWithout an integrated diagnosis of histomorphological and molecular criteria, astratified treatment is not possible. Due to the mostly diffuse infiltrating character of the disease, systemic therapy is of crucial importance both in the initial treatment as well as in recurrence and progression. Due to a rapid increase in the knowledge of underlying molecular and genetic changes leading to tumorigenesis, a further diversification into different entities can be expected in the future, which could expand the treatment options.ConclusionDogmas, such as an immune privilege of the central nervous system (CNS) and alack of CNS accessibility of drugs due to the blood-brain barrier, lose importance in the context of modern treatment options, such as small molecules, antibodies or immuno-oncological therapeutics. Further clinical and preclinical research is urgently needed to improve the still poor prognosis for many glioma patients.