中枢神经系统肿瘤是一类由于神经元、胶质细胞及神经系统中其它相关细胞异常增殖及恶性转化引发的、具有侵袭性的神经系统疾病。由于发病部位常危及控制机体重要功能的中枢，传统治疗方法对原发性神经系统肿瘤的治疗效果不佳，导致该类疾病患者的临床受益有限。因此，开发更为有效的治疗性药物是该领域亟待解决的重大科学问题。神经干细胞（NSCs）是一类具有自我更新和分化的神经系统来源的成体干细胞。已有大量研究报道，NSCs对神经系统来源的肿瘤具有特异的定向迁移及浸润能力，可以将具有肿瘤杀伤活性的药物定向传递到病灶部位。因此，这一特性使得NSCs成为一种具有良好临床转化潜力的生物治疗候选制剂，为中枢神经系统恶性肿瘤的新型药物研发提供了新思路。

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are aggressive neurological diseases caused by abnormal proliferation and malignant transformation of neurons, glia or other related cells in the nervous system. Since the tumors are often located close to or have invaded into the critical parts of the CNS that are in charge of the vital functions of the body, conventional therapies normally give rise to only sub-optimal clinical outcomes and limited benefit to patients. Thus, it has become a major pressing scientific issue to develop a more effective therapeutic drug in the research field. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are a type of adult stem cells that can self-renew and differentiate into neurons and glia. A large number of studies have shown that NSCs have a specific capability for directional migration to and invasion of nervous system-derived tumors, which can be employed as a tool to deliver anti-tumor drugs to the location of a lesion. This feature makes NSCs a promising candidate for biotherapy with good potential for clinical applications, and provides new ideas on the development of novel drugs against malignant CNS tumors.