Unveiling YKL-40, from serum marker to target therapy in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor in the adult and carries a poor prognosis with a median survival of only 14 months. Patients with glioblastoma are followed with MRI scans, but this technique has several limitations including low specificity to differentiate between tumor and treatment effect. Development of serum markers could significantly improve the care of glioblastoma patients. We review the current concept of developing YKL-40 as one of the most promising serum markers for glioblastoma, the recent advances on understanding the role of YKL-40 in gliomagenesis, and the promising evidence emerging from preclinical models on using this protein as a target for anti-glioma therapy.