ABSTRACT

Malignant tumors of the nervous system represent a special challenge in cancer research. The tumors are not easily accessible both due to their confinement to the intracranial space and also because, their host organ, the brain is very susceptible to all types of infringement, limiting the access by invasive diagnostic or experimental procedures. In addition, the malignant cell populations in these tumors largely represent the complexity of cell types and functions in the nervous system. Therefore, multiple directions of differentiation and functions including their combinations may be encountered.