Clinical implications of molecular neuropathology and biomarkers for malignant glioma

Ghazaleh Tabatabai*, Monika Hegi, Roger Stupp, Michael Weller

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Malignant gliomas are currently diagnosed based on morphological criteria and graded according to theWorld Health Organization classification of primary brain tumors. This algorithm of diagnosis and classification provides clinicians with an estimated prognosis of the natural course of the disease. It does not reflect the expected response to specific treatments beyond surgery (eg, radiotherapy or alkylating chemotherapy). Clinical experience has revealed that gliomas sharing similar histomorphological criteria might indeed have different clinical courses and exhibit highly heterogenous responses to treatments. This was very impressively demonstrated first for oligodendrogliomas. The presence or lack of combined deletions of the chromosomal segments 1p/19q was associated with different benefit from radiotherapy and chemotherapy. We review current molecular markers for malignant gliomas and discuss their current and future impact on clinical neuro-oncology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)302-307
Number of pages6
JournalCurrent neurology and neuroscience reports
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2012

Funding

Disclosure Conflicts of interest: G. Tabatabai: has received honoraria for advisory boards from MSD and Roche.; M. Hegi: is a consultant for Merck Serono, MDxHealth, and MSD; has received honoraria for lectures or advisory boards from Merck Serono, MDxHealth, Shering Plough/ MSD, and Roche; and has received grant support from AstraZeneca; R. Stupp: has served on and received honoraria for advisory boards to Merck Serono (EMD), MSD (Merck & Co), Roche, and MDxHealth; M. Weller: has received research grants from Merck Serono and Roche and honoraria for lectures or advisory boards from Magforce, MSD, Merck Serono, and Roche.

Keywords

  • Biomarker
  • Glioma
  • Molecular diagnostics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Clinical Neurology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Clinical implications of molecular neuropathology and biomarkers for malignant glioma'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this