Pharmacological targeting of the tumor-immune symbiosis in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and highly lethal form of primary brain tumor in adults. The median survival of GBM patients is approximately 14-16 months despite multimodal therapies. Emerging evidence has substantiated the critical role of symbiotic interactions between GBM cells and noncancerous immune cells (e.g., myeloid cells and T cells) in regulating tumor progression and therapy resistance. Approaches to target the tumor-immune symbiosis have emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for GBM. Here, we review the recent developments for pharmacological targeting of the GBM-immune symbiosis and highlight the role of such strategies to improve the effectiveness of immunothera-pies in GBM.

Automated summary

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a common and lethal brain tumor, and the symbiotic interaction between immune cells and GBM cells plays a critical role in tumor progression and therapy resistance. Targeting the tumor-immune symbiosis pharmacologically has emerged as a promising strategy for GBM treatment.