ABSTRACT
Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults with a worldwide incidence of approximately 7 out of 100,000 individuals per year. The current treatment for glioma patients consists of surgical resection, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy [1]. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common type of brain tumor in adults, with a median survival of ∼12-18 months post-diagnosis [2]. Despite recent advances in conventional therapeutic approaches including the gamma-knife (radiation) and temozolomide (chemotherapy) [3], mortality is still close to 100% and the average survival of patients with GBM is less than 1 year. Surgical treatment is invasive but represents the rst approach for the vast majority of brain tumors due to difculties arising in early stage detection. However, after surgical resection, the residual pool of invasive cells rises to recurrent tumor, which, in 96% of cases, arises adjacent to the resection margins [4]. Aggressive treatments have extended the median survival, but it is often associated with signicant impairment in the quality of life. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are noninvasive options often used as adjuvant therapy but may also be effective for curing early stage tumors.
