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The Sociobiology of Brain Tumors

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Book cover Tumor Microenvironment

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1225))

Abstract

Brain tumors are complex cellular ecosystems, composed of populations of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types. While the contributions of the cancer cells in low-grade and high-grade gliomas have been extensively studied, there is comparatively less known about the contributions of the non-neoplastic cells in these tumors. As such, a large proportion of the non-neoplastic cells in gliomas are resident brain microglia, infiltrating circulating macrophages, and T lymphocytes. These immune system-like stromal cells are recruited into the evolving tumor through the elaboration of chemokines, and are reprogrammed to adopt new cellular identities critical for glioma formation, maintenance, and progression. In this manner, these populations of tumor-associated microglia and macrophages produce growth factors that support gliomagenesis and continued tumor growth. As we begin to characterize these immune cell contributions, future therapies might emerge as adjuvant approaches to glioma treatment.

Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it. Life in a local site struck down by a passing storm springs back quickly: opportunistic species rush in to fill the spaces. They entrain the succession that circles back to something resembling the original state of the environment.

Edward O. Wilson

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Funding

The author was funded by a Research Program Award grant from the National Institutes of Health (1-R35-NS07211-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    David H. Gutmann

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  1. David H. Gutmann
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Correspondence to David H. Gutmann .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Alexander Birbrair

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Gutmann, D.H. (2020). The Sociobiology of Brain Tumors. In: Birbrair, A. (eds) Tumor Microenvironment. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1225. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35727-6_8

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