Toda Masahiro
Department of Neurosurgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
ISRN Oncol. 2013 May 15;2013:673793. doi: 10.1155/2013/673793. Print 2013.
Stem cell research has led to the discovery of glioma stem cells (GSCs), and because these cells are resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, analysis of their properties has been rapidly pursued for targeted treatment of malignant glioma. Recent studies have also revealed complex crosstalk between GSCs and their specialized environment (niche). Therefore, targeting not only GSCs but also their niche may be a principle for novel therapies of malignant glioma. One possible novel strategy for targeting GSCs and their niches is immunotherapy with different antitumor mechanism(s) from those of conventional therapy. Recent clinical studies of immunotherapy using peptide vaccines and antibodies have shown promising results. This review describes the recent findings related to GSCs and their niches, as well as immunotherapies for glioma, followed by discussion of immunotherapies that target GSCs for the treatment of malignant glioma.
干细胞研究促使了胶质瘤干细胞（GSCs）的发现，由于这些细胞对化疗和放疗具有抗性，因此人们迅速对其特性进行分析，以实现恶性胶质瘤的靶向治疗。最近的研究还揭示了胶质瘤干细胞与其特殊微环境（生态位）之间复杂的相互作用。因此，不仅靶向胶质瘤干细胞，而且靶向其生态位可能是恶性胶质瘤新疗法的一个原则。一种针对胶质瘤干细胞及其生态位的可能新策略是采用与传统疗法不同抗肿瘤机制的免疫疗法。最近使用肽疫苗和抗体进行免疫治疗的临床研究已显示出有前景的结果。本综述描述了与胶质瘤干细胞及其生态位相关的最新发现，以及胶质瘤的免疫疗法，随后讨论了针对恶性胶质瘤治疗靶向胶质瘤干细胞的免疫疗法。
