在不同类型的中枢神经系统（CNS）癌症中，胶质母细胞瘤（GB）被世界卫生组织（WHO）分类为成人中最常见和最具侵袭性的CNS癌症。GB的发病率在45-55岁人群中更为频繁。GB的治疗基于肿瘤切除、放疗和化疗。最新的分子生物标记物（MB）的发展导致了更准确的GB进展预测。此外，临床、流行病学和实验研究已经确定与患GB风险持续相关的基因变异。然而，尽管在这些领域的进展，GB患者的生存期仍然不到2年。因此，引发肿瘤发生和进展的基本过程仍然需要阐明。近年来，mRNA翻译已成为关注焦点，因为其失调正在成为GB的关键原因。特别是，翻译的起始阶段在这个过程中最为重要。在关键事件中，执行这个阶段的机器在肿瘤微环境中的缺氧条件下经历重构。此外，已经报道了核糖体蛋白（RPs）在GB发展中发挥翻译无关作用。本综述聚焦于阐明翻译起始、翻译机器和GB之间紧密关系的研究。我们还总结了目前最先进的瞄准翻译机器的药物，以改善患者的生存率。总体而言，该领域的最新进展正在为GB的翻译黑暗面照亮新的光芒。 版权所有©Montiel-Dávalos，Ayala和Hernández。

Among the different types of cancer affecting the central nervous system (CNS), glioblastoma (GB) is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most common and aggressive CNS cancer in adults. GB incidence is more frequent among persons aged 45-55 years old. GB treatments are based on tumor resection, radiation, and chemotherapies. The current development of novel molecular biomarkers (MB) has led to a more accurate prediction of GB progression. Moreover, clinical, epidemiological, and experimental studies have established genetic variants consistently associated with the risk of suffering GB. However, despite the advances in these fields, the survival expectancy of GB patients is still shorter than 2 years. Thus, fundamental processes inducing tumor onset and progression remain to be elucidated. In recent years, mRNA translation has been in the spotlight, as its dysregulation is emerging as a key cause of GB. In particular, the initiation phase of translation is most involved in this process. Among the crucial events, the machinery performing this phase undergoes a reconfiguration under the hypoxic conditions in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, ribosomal proteins (RPs) have been reported to play translation-independent roles in GB development. This review focuses on the research elucidating the tight relationship between translation initiation, the translation machinery, and GB. We also summarize the state-of-the-art drugs targeting the translation machinery to improve patients' survival. Overall, the recent advances in this field are shedding new light on the dark side of translation in GB.Copyright © 2023 Montiel-Dávalos, Ayala and Hernández.