Standard approaches to
therapy for
malignant glioma provide modest improvement of progression-free survival and overall survival. Almost all patients experiencing
glioblastoma eventually progress, and no cure is currently available. During the last decade, we have witnessed a 30% improvement in 2-year overall survival rates, yet
glioblastoma continues to cause approximately 13,000
cancer-related deaths in the United States annually. Thus, novel
therapies need to be investigated alongside continued development of currently available
radiotherapy and
chemotherapy options. Because
glioblastoma does not typically metastasize outside the brain, development of unique local
therapies that are not available for other
cancers is feasible. Experimental agents, like
scorpion venom-derived
chlorotoxin, have been successfully applied in local
therapy for
glioblastoma. In addition, multiple new gene therapy approaches are emerging for both local and systemic
glioblastoma therapy. Lastly, alternating electric fields are being introduced to
cancer therapy. This review will discuss these "nonstandard"--outside the box--modalities for
therapy for
malignant glioma.