Immunophenotyping From Blood of Patients With Malignant Gliomas
Immunophenotyping From Blood of Patients With Malignant Gliomas
In this explorative study immunological changes during tumor therapy will be analyzed in
 patients with malignant glioma. Immunophenotyping before and during therapy is used as
 analysis method. Thereby immune cells are quantitatively and qualitatively detected from
 patient's blood at continuous time points. Additionally relevant mediators like cytokines,
 danger signals and chemokines are analyzed by other methods. Obtained results may give
 information about the effects of therapy on immunological processes and immune cells and may
 help to find immunological based predictive or prognostic tumor markers and to define time
 points for including additional immune therapy in the future.
Patients with malignant glioma generally have a bad prognosis. To improve patients' situation
 new therapy options as well as new possibilities to determine prognosis and prediction more
 precisely are needed. One approach is the targeted activation of the immune system to
 recognize and eliminate tumor cells. Due to cerebral tumors the brain is no immune privileged
 organ anymore, so that immune cells may pass the haemato-encephalic barrier to attack tumor
 cells. This study aims to offer valuable clues about how the immune system is influenced by
 standard therapies (radiotherapy and chemotherapy). Just with the background knowledge of
 immune mechanisms and influencing factors by tumor therapy, an effective anti-tumor response
 can systematically be induced by modulating immune therapy. To analyze immunological changes,
 immunophenotyping by flow cytometry is performed with blood from patients with malignant
 gliomas during their therapy concluding chemoradiation and chemotherapy alone. Count, class
 and activation status of immune cells are detected by flow cytometry. Together with
 additional analysis methods, information about immunological mediators like cytokines,
 chemokines and danger signals can be received. For these purposes serum and plasma are
 generated from blood samples and stored for prospective questions. The explorative determined
 results may also help to discover new, immunological based, prognostic or predictive tumor
 markers.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  patients with glioblastoma or anaplastic astrocytoma

 -  legal age

 -  planned chemoradiation and adjuvant chemotherapy (according to Stupp et. al.)

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Fertile patients who refuse effective contraception during study treatment

 -  persistent drug and/or alcohol abuse

 -  patients not able or willing to behave according to study protocol

 -  patients in care

 -  patients that are not able to speak German