Exploring multi-targeting strategies for the treatment of gliomas.

Molecularly targeted therapies hold the promise of providing new anticancer treatments that are more effective and less toxic than traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Unfortunately, results of first generation targeted therapy trials for malignant gliomas (glioblastomas and anaplastic forms of astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas) have been disappointing. While combination strategies targeting angiogenesis through inhibition of the VEGFR pathway (eg, bevacizumab combined with irinotecan) have demonstrated promising activity, single-agent drugs have been largely unsuccessful when tested in recurrent disease clinical trials.

Pitfalls in the diagnosis of brain tumours.

Establishing the diagnosis of a brain tumour is not always a straightforward process. Many non-neoplastic neurological diseases can mimic brain neoplasms on neuroimaging or on histological examination, including multiple sclerosis, stroke, pyogenic abscess, toxoplasmosis, tuberculosis, cysticercosis, fungal infections, syphilis, sarcoidosis, Behçet disease, radiation necrosis, venous thrombosis, and others. Conversely, several types of brain neoplasms, such as glioblastomas, low-grade gliomas, CNS lymphomas, and brain metastases, can present in the absence of typical tumefactive lesions, posing significant diagnostic challenges.