Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma: Promising target in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma, also known as glioblastoma multiforme, is the most common and worldwide-spread cancer that begins within the brain. Glio-blastomas represent 15% of brain tumors. The most common length of survival following diagnosis is 12 to 14 months with less than 3% to 5% of people surviving longer than five years. Without treatment, survival is typically 3 months. Among all receptors, special attention has been focused on the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in glioblastoma. PPARs are ligand-activated intracellular transcription factors. The PPAR subfamily consists of three subtypes encoded by distinct genes named PPARa, PPARp/S, and PPARy. PPARy is the most extensively studied subtype of PPAR. There has been interesting preliminary evidence suggesting that diabetic patients receiving PPARy agonists, a group of anti-diabetics, thiazolidinedione drugs, have an increased median survival for glioblastoma. In this paper, the recent progresses in understanding the potential mechanism of PPARy in glioblastoma are summarized.