1. Molecular biology of high-grade gliomas: what should the clinician know?
- Author
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Elisabeth J. Rushing, Matthias Preusser, Christine Marosi, and Silvia Hofer
- Subjects
EGFRvIII ,Methyltransferase ,diagnosis ,Oligodendroglioma ,Review ,High-grade glioma ,Glioma ,1p/19q ,medicine ,molecular biology ,Humans ,Point Mutation ,Epidermal growth factor receptor ,Promoter Regions, Genetic ,DNA Modification Methylases ,Aged ,Neoplasm Grading ,biology ,Brain Neoplasms ,IDH-1/2 ,Tumor Suppressor Proteins ,prediction ,DNA Methylation ,medicine.disease ,Molecular biology ,Isocitrate Dehydrogenase ,ErbB Receptors ,Clinical trial ,DNA Repair Enzymes ,Oncology ,Drug development ,DNA methylation ,Cancer research ,biology.protein ,prognosis ,Chromosome Deletion ,MGMT ,Glioblastoma - Abstract
The current World Health Organization classification system of primary brain tumors is solely based on morphologic criteria. However, there is accumulating evidence that tumors with similar histology have distinct molecular signatures that significantly impact treatment response and survival. Recent practice-changing clinical trials have defined a role for routine assessment of O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation in glioblastoma patients, especially in the elderly, and 1p and 19q codeletions in patients with anaplastic glial tumors. Recently discovered molecular alterations including mutations in IDH-1/2, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and BRAF also have the potential to become targets for future drug development. This article aims to summarize current knowledge on the molecular biology of high-grade gliomas relevant to daily practice.
- Published
- 2014
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