%0 Journal Article
%T An Update in the Use of Antibodies to Treat Glioblastoma Multiforme
%A Norma Y. Hern¨¢ndez-Pedro
%A Edgar Rangel-L¨®pez
%A Gustavo Vargas F¨¦lix
%A Benjam¨ªn Pineda
%A Julio Sotelo
%J Autoimmune Diseases
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/716813
%X Glioblastoma is a deadly brain disease and modest improvement in survival has been made. At initial diagnosis, treatment consists of maximum safe surgical resection, followed by temozolomide and chemoirradiation or adjuvant temozolomide alone. However, these treatments do not improve the prognosis and survival of patients. New treatment strategies are being sought according to the biology of tumors. The epidermal growth factor receptor has been considered as the hallmark in glioma tumors; thereby, some antibodies have been designed to bind to this receptor and block the downstream signaling pathways. Also, it is known that vascularization plays an important role in supplying new vessels to the tumor; therefore, new therapy has been guided to inhibit angiogenic growth factors in order to limit tumor growth. An innovative strategy in the treatment of glial tumors is the use of toxins produced by bacteria, which may be coupled to specific carrier-ligands and used for tumoral targeting. These carrier-ligands provide tumor-selective properties by the recognition of a cell-surface receptor on the tumor cells and promote their binding of the toxin-carrier complex prior to entry into the cell. Here, we reviewed some strategies to improve the management and treatment of glioblastoma and focused on the use of antibodies. 1. Introduction Since the ¡°magic bullet¡± concept proposed by Paul Ehrlich more than one century ago in which he describes that specific recognition and elimination of pathogen organisms or malignant cells by antibodies (Abs) is possible, many types of these molecules have been developed as tools against cancer. Abs have the capacity to travel through the blood, binding to specific tumor antigens on the surface of cells or recognizing other ¡°tumor-related¡± targets, blocking ligand-receptor growth signals, some survival pathways, and finally eliciting tumor cell death [1]. Neuroephitelial tumors are the most common primary intracranial tumors of the central nervous system (CNS), and, unfortunately, malignant gliomas are the most lethal type of adult brain tumors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the classification of malignant gliomas is based on morphological similarities of the tumor cells with nonneoplastic glial cells. Therefore, gliomas have been classified and graded on a malignant scale from I to IV as follows: astrocytic (grade I¨CIV), oligodendroglial (grade II-III), mixed oligoastrocytic (grade I¨CIII), and ependymal tumors (grade I-II). Particularly, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an anaplastic cellular, grade IV tumor
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ad/2013/716813/