Breaking Immune Isolation in Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) represents one of the prototypical immune-cold tumors, characterized by profound immune suppression, T-cell exclusion, low neoantigen burden, and a highly immunosuppressive myeloid-dominant tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite advances in immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), CAR-T cells, and cancer vaccines, clinical benefits remain limited. This review synthesizes emerging evidence on multi-modal strategies aimed at reprogramming the cold TME into an immunologically active state. We highlight innate immune agonists, oncolytic virotherapy, precision nanomedicine, metabolic modulation, and radiotherapy-immune synergies. We further propose an integrated framework combining spatial immunomics, targeted delivery technology, and TME-specific engineering to overcome the therapeutic bottlenecks of GBM.

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Publication Details

Journal
Drug Resistance Updates
Published
2026-05-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drup.2026.101412
Primary Topic
T-cell and B-cell Immunology
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Breaking Immune Isolation in Glioblastoma

Kihwan Hwang, Ji‐Yong Sung
Drug Resistance Updates
T-cell and B-cell Immunology
article

Breaking Immune Isolation in Glioblastoma

Kihwan Hwang, Ji‐Yong Sung
article en

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) represents one of the prototypical immune-cold tumors, characterized by profound immune suppression, T-cell exclusion, low neoantigen burden, and a highly immunosuppressive myeloid-dominant tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite advances in immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), CAR-T cells, and cancer vaccines, clinical benefits remain limited. This review synthesizes emerging evidence on multi-modal strategies aimed at reprogramming the cold TME into an immunologically active state. We highlight innate immune agonists, oncolytic virotherapy, precision nanomedicine, metabolic modulation, and radiotherapy-immune synergies. We further propose an integrated framework combining spatial immunomics, targeted delivery technology, and TME-specific engineering to overcome the therapeutic bottlenecks of GBM.

Drug Resistance UpdatesVol. 87
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (KR)
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
T-cell and B-cell Immunology
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