Brain Tumors Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Brain Tumors, including details on symptoms, benign and malignant tumors, gliomas, screening, treatment.

Anti-apoptosis mechanisms in malignant gliomas.

Ziegler DS, Kung AL, Kieran MW

Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. d.ziegler@unsw.edu.au

Malignant gliomas are characterized by an intrinsic resistance to apoptosis. Increasing evidence suggests that this is a fundamental mechanism by which gliomas evade elimination when treated with both conventional and targeted therapies. In this review, we describe the multiple anti-apoptotic signals that have been demonstrated to be active in malignant gliomas. We describe the preclinical evidence that suggests that targeting those signaling anomalies can increase tumor responsiveness and enhance the elimination of gliomas in preclinical models. We discuss recent advances in translating pro-apoptotic compounds to clinical trial, and the potential for implementing agents that target the apoptotic pathway as a strategy for improving the outcomes for patients with high-grade gliomas.

Published 18 January 2008 in J Clin Oncol, 26(3): 493-500.
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