Molecular Insights into Glioblastoma Pathogenesis and Therapeutics

Dear Colleagues,

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is one of the most common brain tumors that can develop from low-grade astrocytic tumors or arise de novo. Despite aggressive multimodal therapy consisting of cytoreductive surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, the prognosis is extremely poor. Tumors that appear to be circumscribed and very focal according to standard neuroimaging data may nevertheless have tumor cells that infiltrate surrounding parenchyma around the edge, even far from the epicenter of the lesion. After surgical removal, more than 90% of GBM recur within the margins of the resection cavity or develop enhancing lesions at some distance from the original tumor, either in the ipsilateral or opposite hemisphere. Knowledge of the stem cells involved in glioblastoma tumorigenesis is of fundamental importance to understanding how this tumor arises and spreads and to the study new molecular targets. Although molecular features are now fundamental for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic classification of glioblastoma, this tumor is still far from being fully understood in its molecular basis, infiltration capacity, and resistance to treatments, and its molecular characterization is therefore strongly required to significantly improve prognosis, early intervention on recurrence, and targeted therapy.

In this Special Issue, we will discuss the progress in the knowledge of the molecular features of the brain tumor glioblastoma with a special focus on the elucidation of the mechanisms of disease onset and progression for the potential development of new therapeutic and treatment approaches in the perspective of clinical applications and diagnostic tool discovery increasingly oriented towards personalized medicine. From this standpoint, the integration of different and complementary skills, such as biochemistry and omics sciences, oncology, neurosurgery, and pathology, contributes to achieving a deeper understanding and promising results in a multidisciplinary approach to investigating the disease.

Dr. Claudia Desiderio
Dr. Giovanni Sabatino
Dr. Edoardo Mazzucchi
Guest Editors

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