Combination of immunotherapy and local chemotherapy for the treatment of unresectable glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain cancer. The low median survival of patients diagnosed with this disease makes it an unmet medical need. Nowadays, immunotherapeutic treatments have shown remarkable results in some populations of cancer patients but are rather ineffective in improving glioblastoma patients’ outcomes when used in monotherapy. The aim of this Ph.D. thesis is to contribute to the research of glioblastoma treatments by developing combination strategies of drug delivery systems to potentiate immunotherapy efficacy. The strategies used in this work include a DNA vaccine encoding glioblastoma-associated antigens, immune checkpoint blockades, and an immunogenic chemotherapeutic agent delivered locally. Our findings confirm the benefit of combination strategies to improve the immune response and increase the survival of glioblastoma.(BIFA - Sciences biomédicales et pharmaceutiques) -- UCL, 202