Peptide vaccines for the treatment of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an extremely malignant brain tumor for which current therapies do little to remedy. Despite aggressive treatment with surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, tumors inevitably recur as a direct consequence of the infiltrative nature of GBM. The poor prognosis of patients with GBM underscores the clear and urgent need for more precise and potent therapies. Immunotherapy is emerging as a promising means to treat GBM based on the immune system’s capacity to mediate tumor-specific cytotoxicity. In this review, we will discuss the use of peptide vaccines for the treatment of GBM. The simplicity of peptide vaccines and their ability to elicit tumor antigen-specific immune responses make them an invaluable tool for the study of brain tumor immunotherapy.