Fernández C, Zafra-Martín J, Couñago F. Current challenges in the treatment of gliomas: The molecular era. World J Clin Oncol 2024; 15(8): 982-986 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i8.982]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Castalia Fernández, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare Madrid, Emilio Vargas 16, Madrid 28043, Spain.castaliafer@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Aug 24, 2024; 15(8): 982-986 Published online Aug 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i8.982
Current challenges in the treatment of gliomas: The molecular era
Castalia Fernández, Juan Zafra-Martín, Felipe Couñago
Castalia Fernández, Felipe Couñago, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare Madrid, Madrid 28043, Spain
Castalia Fernández, Felipe Couñago, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario Vithas La Milagrosa, GenesisCare, Madrid 28010, Spain
Castalia Fernández, Felipe Couñago, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario San Francisco de Asís, GenesisCare, Madrid 28002, Spain
Juan Zafra-Martín, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria, Málaga 29010, Spain
Author contributions: Fernández C and Couñago F conceived and performed the study; Fernández C, Couñago F and Zafra-Martín J drafted and revised the paper for important intellectual content; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Castalia Fernández, MD, Staff Physician, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare Madrid, Emilio Vargas 16, Madrid 28043, Spain.castaliafer@gmail.com
Received: April 14, 2024 Revised: May 22, 2024 Accepted: July 15, 2024 Published online: August 24, 2024 Processing time: 123 Days and 23.3 Hours
Abstract
Gliomas originate from glial cells in the central nervous system. Approximately 80%-85% of malignant brain tumors in adults are gliomas. The most common central nervous system tumor in children is low-grade pediatric glioma. Diagnosis was determined by histological features until 2016 when the World Health Organization classification integrated molecular data with anatomopathological information to achieve a more integral diagnosis. Molecular characterization has led to better diagnostic and prognostic staging, which in turn has increased the precision of treatment. Current efforts are focused on more effective therapies to prolong survival and improve the quality of life of adult and pediatric patients with glioma. However, improvements in survival have been modest. Currently, clinical guidelines, as well as the article by Mohamed et al accompanying this editorial piece, are adapting treatment recommendations (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) according to diagnosis and prognosis guided by molecular biomarkers. Furthermore, this paves the way for the design of clinical trials with new therapies, which is especially important in pediatric gliomas.
Core Tip: The current trimodal approach including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy for the treatment of gliomas has benefited from the introduction of molecular diagnosis. However, new challenges have appeared. There is still debate on the best therapeutic option. In this editorial, we focused on the controversial areas in molecular classification and new treatment advances.
