High-Grade Gliomas of the Adult: Molecular Biology (Part I): Narrative Review

Abstract

Introduction: Glial tumors, within neuroepithelial lesions, are the most common intraaxial neoplastic. They represent about 45% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors and 77% of all malignant primary CNS tumors. The median median survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) when multimodal treatment is used is 15-18 months and 2-5 years with anaplastic gliomas. Conventional treatments for brain tumors include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Surgical treatment represents the first approach for the vast majority of brain tumors; however, total resection is not always achievable in relation to the location of the tumor, which is vitally important to preserve nerve or vascular structures.

Aggressive treatment modalities have extended median survival, but survival is often associated with a significant deterioration in quality of life. The efficacy of systemic chemotherapy is limited by the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which limits the passage of a wide variety of anticancer agents, the action of alkylating agents, is limited by the activation of methyl-guanine- methyltransferase. The advent of molecular studies allows a new evaluation of the biology of gliomas with, a level of precision that promises interesting advances towards the development of effective specific therapies. Targeted therapies block the activation of oncogenic pathways, either at the level of ligand-receptor interaction or by inhibiting downstream signal transduction pathways, thus inhibiting cancer growth and progression.

The objective of the present work was to carry out a bibliographic review about the aspects related to the molecular pathogenesis in the progression of these tumors in adults, and their potential therapeutic targets.