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• Caffo, M
• Barresi, V
• Caruso, G
• Cutugno, M
• La Fata, G
• Venza, M
• Alafaci, C
• Tomasello, F
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• Caffo, M
• Barresi, V
• Caruso, G
• Cutugno, M
• La Fata, G
• Venza, M
• Alafaci, C
• Tomasello, F
• [+] on PubMed
• Caffo, M
• Barresi, V
• Caruso, G
• Cutugno, M
• La Fata, G
• Venza, M
• Alafaci, C
• Tomasello, F

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14(1), 2135-2174; doi:10.3390/ijms14012135

Review

Innovative Therapeutic Strategies in the Treatment of Brain Metastases

Maria Caffo ¹ , Valeria Barresi ² , Gerardo Caruso ^1,* , Mariano Cutugno ¹ , Giuseppe La Fata ¹ , Mario Venza ¹ , Concetta Alafaci ¹  and Francesco Tomasello ¹

¹ Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Messina, A.O.U. Policlinico "G. Martino", via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy ² Department of Human Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Messina, A.O.U. Policlinico "G. Martino", via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 9 December 2012; in revised form: 8 January 2013 / Accepted: 9 January 2013 / Published: 22 January 2013

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Metastasis)

Download PDF Full-Text [310 KB, uploaded 22 January 2013 10:50 CET]

Abstract: Brain metastases (BM) are the most common intracranial tumors and their incidence is increasing. Untreated brain metastases are associated with a poor prognosis and a poor performance status. Metastasis development involves the migration of a cancer cell from the bulk tumor into the surrounding tissue, extravasation from the blood into tissue elsewhere in the body, and formation of a secondary tumor. In the recent past, important results have been obtained in the management of patients affected by BM, using surgery, radiation therapy, or both. Conventional chemotherapies have generally produced disappointing results, possibly due to their limited ability to penetrate the blood–brain barrier. The advent of new technologies has led to the discovery of novel molecules and pathways that have better depicted the metastatic process. Targeted therapies such as bevacizumab, erlotinib, gefitinib, sunitinib and sorafenib, are all licensed and have demonstrated improved survival in patients with metastatic disease. In this review, we will report current data on targeted therapies. A brief review about brain metastatic process will be also presented.

Keywords: angiogenesis; blood–brain barrier; brain metastases; cancer stem cells; microRNA; targeted therapy

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