Pharmacotherapy for adults with tumors of the central nervous system

Abstract

Tumors of the adult central nervous system are among the most common and most chemoresistant neoplasms. Malignant tumors of the brain and spinal cord collectively account for approximately 1.3% of all cancers and 2.2% of all cancer-related deaths. Novel pharmacological approaches to nervous system tumors are urgently needed. This review presents the current approaches and challenges to successful pharmacotherapy of adults with malignant tumors of the central nervous system and discusses novel approaches aimed at overcoming these challenges.

Schisandrin B suppresses glioma cell metastasis mediated by inhibition of mTOR/MMP-9 signal pathway

“…The residual tumors can behave in a very aggressive and malignant fashion. Hence, a new optimal pharmacotherapy drugs that target multiple mechanisms of tumor growth and metastasis are urgently needed to improve outcomes for patients with malignant gliomas [18].…”

“…Schisandrin B is the most abundant dibenzocyclooctadiene derivative in extracted from the fruit of Schisandra chinensis Baill and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat physiological functions disorders, especially improve cardiac [18] and injured liver [10] as well as protects neural cell from oxidative stress [8]. In addition, Schisandrin B has been reported to possess antitumor activity in various human cancers.…”

Overcoming the Challenges in the Effective Delivery of Chemotherapies to CNS Solid Tumors

“…Since the 1960s, when systemic chemotherapies first began to be employed towards the clinical treatment of CNS solid tumors [89–91], small-molecule lipid-soluble and cationic lipid-soluble chemotherapies have formed the basis of chemotherapy regimens, which include traditional small-molecule chemotherapy drugs that target the cell cycle, such as DNA alkylators and antimetabolites [49,92], and newer small molecule drugs that target overexpressed tumor cell growth factor receptors and associated downstream cell-signaling pathways, including tyrosine kinase and proteosome inhibitors [23,93,94]. Most small-molecule chemotherapy drugs are lipid-soluble or cationic lipid-soluble molecules of molecular weights less than 0.8 kDa with high octanol-water partition coefficients ( K ow ; LogP) and acid-dissociation constants (pK a ) [95].…”

On the effects of CP 55-940 and other cannabinoid receptor agonists in C6 and U373 cell lines

“…Nowadays, several therapeutic strategies for treatment and control of gliomas have been used, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical recession; however, only limited results have been obtained so far (Burnet et al, 2007;Guzman, 2003;Hall et al, 2005). Therefore, it is necessary to develop new therapeutic approaches and strategies for the efficient treatment of these aggressive tumors (Schor, 2009). …”