Immune and viral therapies for malignant primary brain tumors

Introduction: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a primary brain tumor with great lethality. Current standard of care with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are ineffective in curing this disease. Recent advancements in biological therapies show promise in treating brain tumors. Areas covered: This article provides a review of: the peripheral activation of antigen presenting cells such as dendritic cells to stimulate T cells to recognize and destroy tumor cells within the brain; the ex vivo expansion and transfer of dendritic cells, T cells, and engineered T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors to target cells bearing specific tumor antigens as well as monoclonal antibodies as immune check point inhibitors. Gene therapy approaches have also been utilized to employ viral vectors in transducing cells to express cytokines for activating immune responses to brain tumors. Finally, the article reviews engineering of viruses for oncolytic targeting and destruction of malignant tumors within the brain. Expert opinion: The ultimate goal of immune and viral approaches for treating malignant brain tumors is to cure this disease. Preclinical and clinical studies utilizing these biological therapeutic approaches for treating brain tumors have the potential to augment the current standard of care to provide potential curative therapies.