Dendritic cell-based immunotherapy for malignant glioma.

The immunotherapy for malignant glioma faces unique difficult, due to some anatomical and immunological characteristics including the existence of blood brain barrier, the absence of lymphatic tissues and dendritic cells (DCs) in the central nervous system (CNS) parenchyma, and the presence of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Therefore, immunotherapeutic approaches will not be beneficial unless the compromised immune status in malignant glioma patients is overcome. DC-based immunotherapy, vaccinating cancer patients with DCs pulsed with various tumor antigens, is one of the most promising immunotherapeutic approaches for treatment of malignant glioma because it seems able to overcome, at least partially, the immunosuppressive state associated with primary malignancies.