Convection Enhanced Delivery in the Setting of High-Grade Gliomas

Abstract

Development of effective treatments for high-grade glioma (HGG) is hampered by (1) the blood–brain barrier (BBB), (2) an infiltrative growth pattern, (3) rapid development of therapeutic resistance, and, in many cases, (4) dose-limiting toxicity due to systemic exposure. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) has the potential to significantly limit systemic toxicity and increase therapeutic index by directly delivering homogenous drug concentrations to the site of disease. In this review, we present clinical experiences and preclinical developments of CED in the setting of high-grade gliomas.

Keywords

• glioblastoma
• high-grade glioma
• refractory glioma
• direct delivery
• convection enhanced delivery
• neuro-oncology