Measurement Methodologies for Assessing the Glycolysis Effect in the Discrimination and Therapy of Brain Gliomas

Abstract

Primary brain tumors refer to those developing from the various types of cells that compose the brain. Gliomas represent about 50% of all primary brain tumors and include a variety of different histological tumor types and malignancy grades. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies gliomas into four histological types and four grades. The goal of molecular classification using advanced pattern recognition tools is to identify subgroups of tumors with distinct biological and clinical features and initiate the challenge of classifying complex gliomas of similar histology and malignancy status into distinct categories. The aim of this paper is to i) present the measurement procedures and analysis methodologies, ii) summarize the currently available knowledge related to the utilization of ’omics’ measurements in the discrimination of brain gliomas, and iii) provide a scientific basis for future medical practice in the discrimination and treatment of brain gliomas based specifically on the metabolic process of glycolysis. In particular, the paper explores the idea of the glycolysis pathway as a critical concept for the development of therapeutic strategies for brain gliomas.