[Molecular-targeted therapy for malignant glioma].

TLDR: The development of the main molecular targeted non-cytotoxic agents investigated in glioma are reviewed, highlighting lessons derived from the development of these novel drugs and proposing new horizons for the clinical development of molecular-targeted therapies.

Abstract: Over the past decade, molecular-targeted therapies have been added to cytotoxic and anti-endocrine drugs in the treatment of cancer, with an aim to target the molecular pathways underlying the carcinogenic processes and maintaining cancer phenotypes. Success with some of these agents has suggested that identification and validation of the drug target is the starting point to the route of development of active, safe, and effective drugs. The main molecular targets employed for the development of anticancer drugs are cell surface receptors, signal transduction pathways, gene transcription targets, ubiquitin-proteasome/heat shock proteins, and tumor microenvironment components (especially, antiangiogenic agents). In this paper, we review the development of the main molecular targeted non-cytotoxic agents investigated in glioma, highlighting lessons derived from the development of these novel drugs and proposing new horizons for the clinical development of molecular-targeted therapies.