CHARACTERIZING THERAPEUTICALLY RESISTANT HUMAN GLIOBLASTOMA CELLS

Abstract

`GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME? RETAINS ITS REPUTATION AS THE MOST COMMON AND DEVASTATING PRIMARY BRAIN TUMOUR AFFECTING ADULTS. THIS DISEASE?S THERAPEUTIC RESISTANCE FORTIFY IT AS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING CANCERS TO MANAGE. DESPITE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGGRESSIVE TREATMENT WHICH CONSISTS OF MAXIMAL SAFE SURGICAL RESECTION, FOLLOWED BY CONCOMITANT CHEMOTHERAPY AND HIGH-DOSE RADIATION, THE OVERALL PROGNOSIS REMAINS ABYSMAL. TUMOUR RECURRENCE IS AN INEVITABLE EVENT. AT THIS STAGE, THE IDENTIFICATION OF SURVIVING CELLS RESPONSIBLE FOR TUMOUR RECURRENCE HAS YET TO BE CLINICALLY DETERMINED. BASED ON THESE OBSERVATIONS, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT CELL POPULATIONS WITHIN GLIOBLASTOMA THAT POSSESS INNATE RESISTANCE MECHANISMS AGAINST CHEMO-RADIATION INDUCED CELL DEATH, ALLOWING THEM TO SURVIVE AND INITIATE TUMOUR RECURRENCE.