Interleukin-13 receptor subunit alpha-2 (IL13RA2/IL-13RA2) is also known as cluster of differentiation 213A2 (CD213A2), IL-13 receptor subunit alpha-2, IL-13R subunit alpha-2, and IL-13RA2. The IL13RA2 is often overexpressed in brain tumors, making Il13ra2 one of the vaccine targets for immunotherapy of glioma. IL13RA2/IL-13RA2 is a cancer-associated receptor that is present in greater than 80% of High-Grade Astrocytomas (HGA) and has recently been recognized as a cytokine that predisposes breast cancer cells to metastasize. Expression of IL13Rα2 was rapidly lost from the surface of transduced cells grown in culture. The loss appeared to be related to ligands present in fetal bovine serum in the medium. None of the malignant glioma cell lines cultivated in vitro and tested to date exhibited the IL13Rα2 receptor. A recombinant virus (R5111) enters cells via its interaction with the IL13Rα2 receptor in a manner that cannot be differentiated from the interaction of wild-type virus with its receptors.