The current landscape of neuro-oncology clinical trials
- 1University of Vermont Medical Center, United States of America
- 2University of Vermont Cancer Center, United States of America
Abstract
CNS malignancies, particularly gliomas, are aggressive and often terminal brain tumours in adults. While advances have been made in the understanding of the glioma microenvironment and the molecular genetic pathways that drive gliomagenesis, translation into effective clinical therapies remains challenging. Barriers to therapeutic advancement include intrinsic factors such as the poorly understood blood-brain barrier, glioma heterogeneity, and the immunologically privileged environment of the brain. This review provides an exploration of therapeutic developments in neuro-oncology, namely – immunotherapies, targeted therapies, surgical trials and radiation therapy trials. We address the difficulty of glioma clinical trials designs and lessons from ineffective interventions. We discuss future strategies in improving breakthrough therapies for gliomas such as streamlining clinical trial design, integrating biomarkers and molecular targeting into studies, enhancing the validity and reproducibility of glioma trials.
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BibTeX
@article{abadi2026current,
title = {{The current landscape of neuro-oncology clinical trials}},
author = {Neelia E. Abadi and Alissa A. Thomas and Oluwatosin O. Akintola},
journal = {Clinical medicine (London, England)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.clinme.2026.100655},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13730228},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The current landscape of neuro-oncology clinical trials
AU - Neelia E. Abadi
AU - Alissa A. Thomas
AU - Oluwatosin O. Akintola
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Clinical medicine (London, England)
DO - 10.1016/j.clinme.2026.100655
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13730228
AB - CNS malignancies, particularly gliomas, are aggressive and often terminal brain tumours in adults. While advances have been made in the understanding of the glioma microenvironment and the molecular genetic pathways that drive gliomagenesis, translation into effective clinical therapies remains challenging. Barriers to therapeutic advancement include intrinsic factors such as the poorly understood blood-brain barrier, glioma heterogeneity, and the immunologically privileged environment of the brain. This review provides an exploration of therapeutic developments in neuro-oncology, namely – immunotherapies, targeted therapies, surgical trials and radiation therapy trials. We address the difficulty of glioma clinical trials designs and lessons from ineffective interventions. We discuss future strategies in improving breakthrough therapies for gliomas such as streamlining clinical trial design, integrating biomarkers and molecular targeting into studies, enhancing the validity and reproducibility of glioma trials.
SN - 1470-2118
SN - 1473-4893
ER -