Chen Lu1 and Amal Shervington1
(1) Brain Tumour North West, Faculty of Science, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Received: 14 December 2007 Accepted: 29 January 2008 Published online: 8 February 2008
Abstract Despite improved knowledge and advanced treatments of gliomas, the overall survival rate for glioma patients remains low. Gliomas comprise of significant cell heterogeneity that contains a large number of multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotypes and cancer stem cells (CSCs), a combination that may contribute to the resistance to treatment. This article reviews the MDR related genes, major-vault protein (MVP), anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) and the molecular mechanisms that may contribute to chemoresistance, in addition to the upregulated MDR phenotypes present in CSCs that has recently been identified in gliomas. Moreover, future potential therapies that modulate MDR phenotypes and CSCs are also reviewed. An improved understanding of MDR may lead to a combined treatment, targeting both CSCs and their protective MDR phenotypes leading eventually to attractive strategies for the treatment of gliomas.
Keywords Glioma - Brain tumour - Multidrug resistance - Cancer stem cells
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