Pathology of Gliomas and the Role Immunotherapy Plays in Combatting Glioma Proliferation

Abstract

Glioma, a type of tumor arising from the brain and/or spinal cord, is a relatively broad term, encompassing three main types of glial cell tumors: astrocytoma, ependymoma, and oligodendroglioma. A prognosis for a glioma can often be extremely poor, with an overall survival rate of 54.84%. With around 20,000 gliomas being diagnosed each year, it is imperative that effective treatments are developed for management of these tumors. A popular treatment pathway for the treatment of gliomas is surgery along with chemo-radiation therapy such as Temozolomide. This current treatment plan, though, has a moderate effect on lengthening glioma patients’ prognoses. The average survival of this plan is 3 to 6 months. New treatments in the field of immunotherapies may have promising effects for glioma patients’ prognoses. Arising developments in immunotherapy glioma treatment and management is an important field to investigate to further improve the effectivity of cancer treatment for glioma patients. Certain immunotherapies in trials have proven to make impactful improvements to glioma prognoses, one trial showing an increase of 2 months in median survival. This literature review will focus on the pathology and characteristics of the proliferation of malignant glioma cells and the role immunotherapy plays in combatting glioma proliferation