Potential theranostic targets in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GB) is one of the most common and aggressive brain tumors with a high mortality rate. Conventional GB treatment relies on surgical tumor removal followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy which do not seem to be efficient as the survival rate of GB has been low during the past decades. This is mainly due to the presence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and tumor heterogeneity, which prevents the delivery of many common chemotherapeutics drugs into the central nervous system (CNS). The advancement of nanotechnology has opened a new horizon into the development of targeted drug delivery systems to efficiently deliver therapeutic and diagnosis agents at the GB tumor site. In the current chapter, we initially discussed the major challenges of GB drug delivery and then introduced different types of nanoparticles as a promising theranostic platform for the management of GB. This was followed by an overview of the role of nanotheranostics in enhancing the response of GB to radiotherapy as a vital treatment modality in GB. Finally, we will discuss the clinical translation of nanotheranostics for an efficient GB treatment.