Glioblastoma multiforme-associated tumor antigens (GBM-TAAs) (GBM-TAAs)

Glioblastoma multiforme-associated tumor antigens (GBM-TAAs) are a diverse group of proteins that are either uniquely expressed, mutated, or significantly overexpressed in glioblastoma cells compared to normal brain tissue [2, 4]. This category includes well-characterized targets such as the EGFRvIII mutation, IL-13Rα2, HER2, EphA2, and Survivin, which are involved in critical oncogenic processes like cell proliferation, survival, and immune evasion [4, 6, 9]. These antigens serve as the foundation for various immunotherapeutic strategies, including peptide and dendritic cell vaccines (e.g., Rindopepimut, SurVaxM, DCVax-L), mRNA-based therapies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments [3, 6, 8]. By specifically targeting these markers, therapies aim to harness the patient's immune system to selectively destroy malignant cells while sparing healthy neural tissue [1, 9]. However, the clinical utility of targeting GBM-TAAs is often hampered by the high degree of intratumoral heterogeneity and the phenomenon of antigen escape, where tumor cells downregulate target expression to evade immune detection [4, 6]. Ongoing research focuses on multi-antigen targeting and combination therapies to overcome these challenges and improve the prognosis for patients with this aggressive brain cancer [6, 8].

Other names

Glioma-associated antigensGBM antigensGlioma-specific antigensTumor-associated antigens in glioblastoma

Induction of antigen-specific immune responses via vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, or chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells to selectively eliminate tumor cells expressing these antigens.