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Lichtor. Neuroimmunol Neuroinflammation 2019;6:2 Neuroimmunology and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-8659.2018.67 Neuroinflammation

Editorial Open Access

Immunotherapeutic approaches for treatment of brain
tumors

Terry Lichtor

Neurological Surgery, Rush University, Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Correspondence to: Dr. Terry Lichtor, Neurological Surgery, Rush University, Rush Medical College, Rush University Medical Center in
Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA. E-mail: Terry_Lichtor@rush.edu
How to cite this article: Lichtor T. Immunotherapeutic approaches for treatment of brain tumors. Neuroimmunol Neuroinflammation
2019;6:2. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-8659.2018.67

Received: 21 Nov 2018 Accepted: 22 Nov 2018 Published: 16 Jan 2019

Science Editor: Athanassios P. Kyritsis Copy Editor: Huan-Liang Wu Production Editor: Huan-Liang Wu

Antigenic differences between normal and malignant cells of the cancer patient form the rationale
for clinical immunotherapeutic strategies. One emerging strategy in the treatment of tumors involves
stimulation of an immunologic response against the neoplastic cells. The hope is that the immune system
can be called into play to destroy malignant cells. However, in most instances, proliferating tumors do not
provoke anti-tumor cellular immune responses. The precise mechanisms that enable antigenic neoplasms to
escape host immunity are incompletely understood. The cells appear to escape recognition by the immune
system in spite of the fact that neoplastic cells form weakly immunogenic tumor associated antigens.

The ultimate goal of cancer therapy is the elimination of every remaining tumor cell from the patient. It is
unlikely that a single form of therapy is capable of achieving this goal. A number of papers in this special
issue are presented which explore the various issues encountered with immunotherapeutic approaches
to brain tumors. In particular one paper outlines the various clinical trials that have been attempted for
treatment of brain tumors using various immunotherapeutic approaches. Although the results have been
relatively modest, there is still enthusiasm for developing new and improved approaches with the speculation
that immunotherapy will eventually play an important role in the treatment of brain tumors. Monitoring of
the efficacy of immunotherapy remains an issue, and some important points regarding MRI techniques in
monitoring these patients are outlined in another paper. The role of photodynamic therapy in the generation
of specific anti-tumor immunity and vaccines for the treatment of brain tumors is outlined in one of the
manuscripts. The specific problems encountered in developing immunotherapy for pediatric patients with
brain tumors is a topic of another paper.

A number of exciting results have been found in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with
immunotherapeutic approaches, and the issues involved in the treatment of these patients with tumors

© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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