Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Malignant gliomas, the most common type of primary brain tumor, account for 80% of malignant tumors in the central nervous system (CNS). There are three principal types of glioma: astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and oligoastrocytomas. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) have been found in all types; however, many fundamental questions about GSCs remain unanswered. This review will examine the current state of knowledge regarding GSC origin and the signaling pathways implicated in GSC tumorigenesis. The outstanding challenges for the study of GSCs in the context of glioma progression will also be discussed.