Genetic and signaling pathway alterations in glioblastoma: Relevance to novel targeted therapies

Glioblastomas multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. GBM patients have a dismal prognosis, with a median survival of less than 1 year. During the past decade, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of these tumors. Specific genetic defects have been identified that appear to be important for the development, as well as maintenance of the malignant characteristics that are associated with GBM. Some of these genetic aberrations appear to have prognostic significance. However, even more exciting in this era of molecularly targeted therapy are the clues these gene alterations provide for identifying signaling mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis, and for identifying potential therapeutic targets. Cancer drug therapy is currently undergoing a major transition with an attempt to move from the use of cytotoxic drugs towards the use of tumor mechanism-based drugs. Advances such as the decoding of the human genome, combinatorial chemistry, and gene expression profiling have led to an increase in the rate at which new drugs are being developed. In this review, we will describe the most common genetic and signaling pathway alterations that have relevance to new drug development for the treatment of GBM.