Nestin: Neural Stem/Progenitor Cell Marker in Brain Tumors

Glioblastomas are the most common primary malignant neoplasms in the adult brain, and have the characteristics of glial cells [1]. The WHO histopathological classification guidelines categorize gliomas according to their histopathological grades; low-grade gliomas are not anaplastic and are associated with a favorable patient prognosis, while high-grade gliomas exhibit increased cellularity, nuclear atypia, mitotic activity, microvascular proliferation, and necrosis. Glioblastomas are the highest grade of the gliomas. Surgical treatment is the main therapy used for glioblastomas, with radiotherapy and chemotherapy performed as adjuvant care. Despite intensive research and recent advances in treatment, the prognosis for patients with glioblastoma remains poor, with a five-year survival rate of approximately 3% [2, 3]. In addition to having rapid growth rates, glioblastomas aggressively invade the adjacent normal brain tissues, they are often surgically unresectable, and recurrent glioblas‐ tomas are resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy.