Determine if CAR T-cell therapy significantly improves overall survival compared to conventional chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme.

Glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and one of the deadliest primary brain tumors, has a bleak prognosis with conventional treatments. However, recurrence is universal, leading to low overall survival. The emergence of CAR T-cell therapy offers a ray of hope. CAR T-cell therapy aims to induce cytotoxicity against malignant cells to eliminate them. Preliminary studies indicate potential efficacy, but further evaluation against existing treatments is necessary.

CAR T-cell therapy clinical trials with antigens like EGFRvIII, NKG2D, B7-H3, CD147, IL13Ralpha2, HER2, and GD2 demonstrate significant, albeit limited, improvements over conventional treatments for glioblastoma multiforme (recurrent and non-recurrent), extending survival by approximately 1 to 9 months on phase I trials. However, its efficacy is restricted to patients with specific overexpressed antigens. Additionally, tumor microenvironment-induced immune suppression and tumor cell resistance pose substantial challenges to treatment effectiveness. Better results have been achieved with double-targeted treatments using nanoparticles, which have shown superior efficacy and better distribution in the tumor.