Brain tumor
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive (grade IV) and most common form of a malignant brain tumor. Even when aggressive multimodality therapy consisting of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgical excision is used, median survival is only 12–17 months. Standard therapy for glioblastoma multiforme consists of maximal surgical resection of the tumor, followed by radiotherapy between two and four weeks after the surgical procedure to remove the cancer, then by chemotherapy, such as temozolomide. Most patients with glioblastoma take a corticosteroid, typically dexamethasone, during their illness to relieve symptoms. Experimental treatments include targeted therapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, boron neutron capture therapy and gene therapy.
Glypican
Abnormal expression of glypicans has been noted in multiple types of cancer, including human hepatocellular carcinoma, ovarian cancer, mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, glioma, breast cancer and recently GPC2 in neuroblastoma. Most research involving the relationship between glypicans and cancer has focused on GPC1 and GPC3.