Circulating tumor DNA – A potential aid in the management of chordomas

Myeloid cells as potential targets for immunotherapy in pediatric gliomas

Pediatric high-grade glioma (pHGG) including pediatric glioblastoma (pGBM) are highly aggressive pediatric central nervous system (CNS) malignancies. pGBM comprises approximately 3% of all pediatric CNS malignancies and has a 5-year survival rate of approximately 20%. Surgical resection and chemoradiation are often the standard of care for pGBM and pHGG, however, even with these interventions, survival for children diagnosed with pGBM and pHGG remains poor. Due to shortcomings associated with the standard of care, many efforts have been made to create novel immunotherapeutic approaches targeted to these malignancies. These efforts include the use of vaccines, cell-based therapies, and immune-checkpoint inhibitors. However, it is believed that in many pediatric glioma patients an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) possess barriers that limit the efficacy of immune-based therapies. One of these barriers includes the presence of immunosuppressive myeloid cells. In this review we will discuss the various types of myeloid cells present in the glioma TME, including macrophages and microglia, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and dendritic cells, as well as the specific mechanisms these cells can employ to enable immunosuppression. Finally, we will highlight therapeutic strategies targeted to these cells that are aimed at impeding myeloid-cell derived immunosuppression.

Skull Base Tumors: Therapeutic Challenges and Multi-Disciplinary Care

This special edition of Cancers, focusing on skull base tumors, highlights the unique pathologies affecting this anatomic location, as well as the multidisciplinary care necessary to treat these tumors [...].

Ecchordosis Physaliphora: Does It Even Exist?

The term ecchordosis physaliphora (EP) has been used historically to describe a benign notochordal remnant with no growth potential, most commonly occuring in the central clivus. Unfortunately, the radiologic appearance of EP overlaps considerably with the appearance of low-grade chordomas, which do have the potential for growth. In this article, we review new pathologic terminology that better describes this family of diseases, and we propose new radiologic terms that better address the uncertainty of the radiologic diagnosis. The surgical importance of accurate terminology and the implications for patient care are discussed.