Polymeric Biomaterial Scaffolds for Tumoricidal Stem Cell Glioblastoma Therapy

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor and has a poor prognosis; as such, there is an urgent need to develop innovative new therapies. Tumoricidal stem cells are an emerging therapy that has the potential to combat limitations of traditional local and systemic chemotherapeutic strategies for GBM by providing a source for high, sustained concentrations of tumoricidal agents locally to the tumor. One major roadblock for tumoricidal stem cell therapy is that the persistence of tumoricidal stem cells injected as a cell suspension into the GBM surgical resection cavity is limited. Polymeric biomaterial scaffolds have been utilized to enhance the delivery of tumoricidal stem cells in the surgical resection cavity and extend their persistence in the brain, ultimately increasing their therapeutic efficacy against GBM. In this review, we examine three main scaffold categories explored for tumoricidal stem cell therapy: microcapsules, hydrogels, and electrospun scaffolds. Furthermore, considering the significant impact of surgery on the brain and recurrent GBM, we survey a brief history of orthotopic models of GBM surgical resection.