Combined radiation seed, chemotherapy wafer implants show promise in treating cancerous br...( CINCINNATIIn the battle against mali...),Health

CINCINNATIIn the battle against malignant brain tumors, dual implantation of radioactive seeds and chemotherapy wafers following surgery showed promising results in a study led by specialists at the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and University Hospital.

The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, revealed that patients treated with simultaneous implantation of radioactive seeds and chemotherapy wafers following removal of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) experienced longer survival compared with patients who had implantation of seeds or wafers alone.

The study was the first ever to explore the combination treatment in patients suffering from recurrent GBM. The early phase trial involved 34 patients, all of whom underwent the same treatment. No patients received a placebo. The studys purpose was to assess the safety and effectiveness of the highly localized, combination therapy.

The median survival was 69 weeks, and nearly a quarter (eight) of the studys patients survived two years. In comparison, patients with recurrent GBM who undergo conventional treatment (chemotherapy) have a median survival of approximately 26 weeks.

Treatment of recurrent GBM presents a major challenge to neurosurgeons and neuro-oncologists, said investigator Ronald Warnick, MD, chairman of the Mayfield Clinic and professor of neurosurgery at UC. Glioblastoma is an aggressive, highly malignant tumor with unclear boundaries. Because of its diffuse nature, surgeons are unable to remove it completely, and it regrows in the majority of patients. Our aim is to find a way to keep the infiltrating glioblastoma cells from growing into adjacent, healthy tissue.

Because most GBM tumors recur within two centimeters of the initial tumor margin, Warnick and his team have focused their efforts on highly localized treatment.

Previously they studied the implantation of permanent, low-activit
'/>"/>