cancers Review The Role of Translocator Protein TSPO in Hallmarks of Glioblastoma Laura-Marie Ammer 1, Arabel Vollmann-Zwerenz 1, Viktoria Ruf 2, Christian H. Wetzel 3 , Markus J. Riemenschneider 4, Nathalie L. Albert 5, Philipp Beckhove 6 and Peter Hau 1,* 1 Wilhelm Sander-NeuroOncology Unit and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
[email protected] (L.-M.A.);
[email protected] (A.V.-Z.) 2 Center for Neuropathology and Prion Research, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany;
[email protected] 3 Molecular Neurosciences, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
[email protected] 4 Department of Neuropathology, Regensburg University Hospital, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
[email protected] 5 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany;
[email protected] 6 Regensburg Center for Interventional Immunology (RCI) and Department Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 14 September 2020; Accepted: 9 October 2020; Published: 14 October 2020 Simple Summary: The translocator protein (TSPO) has been under extensive investigation as a specific marker in positron emission tomography (PET) to visualize brain lesions following injury or disease. In recent years, TSPO is increasingly appreciated as a potential novel therapeutic target in cancer. In Glioblastoma (GBM), the most malignant primary brain tumor, TSPO expression levels are strongly elevated and scientific evidence accumulates, hinting at a pivotal role of TSPO in tumorigenesis and glioma progression. The aim of this review is to summarize the current literature on TSPO with respect to its role both in diagnostics and especially with regard to the critical hallmarks of cancer postulated by Hanahan and Weinberg.