摘要
The current therapeutic protocols and prognosis of gliomas still depend on clinicopathologic and radiographiccharacteristics. For high-grade gliomas, the standard of care is resection followed by radiotherapy plustemozolomide chemotherapy. However, treatment resistance develops due to different mechanisms, among whichis the dynamic interplay between the tumor and its microenvironment. Different signaling pathways cause theproliferation of so-called glioma stem cells, a minor cancer cell population with stem cell-like characteristics andaggressive phenotype. In the last decades, numerous studies have indicated that Notch is a crucial pathway thatmaintains the characteristics of resistant glioma stem cells. Data obtained from preclinical models indicate thatdownregulation of the Notch pathway could induce multifaceted drug sensitivity, acting on the expression of drugtransporterproteins, inducing epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and shaping the tumor microenvironment. Thisreview provides a brief overview of the published data supporting the roles of Notch in drug resistance anddemonstrates how potential novel strategies targeting Notch could become an efficacious action to improve thetherapy of high-grade glioma to overcome drug resistance.
