Adult Brain Tumors (cont.)
Other types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
New methods of
delivering radiation therapy
- Radiosensitizers: Drugs
that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation. Combining radiation with
radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.
- Hyperfractionation:
Radiation therapy given in smaller-than-usual doses two or three times a day
instead of once a day.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery: A radiation
therapy technique that delivers radiation directly to the tumor with less damage
to healthy tissue. The doctor uses a CT scan or MRI to find the exact location
of the tumor. A rigid head frame is attached to the skull and high-dose
radiation is directed to the tumor through openings in the head frame, reducing
the amount of radiation given to normal brain tissue. This procedure does not
involve surgery. This is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery and gamma knife
therapy.
Hyperthermia therapy
Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high
temperatures to damage and kill cancer cells or to make cancer cells more
sensitive to the effects of radiation and certain anticancer drugs.
Biologic therapy
Biologic therapy is a treatment that uses the patient's immune system to
fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to
boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This type
of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.
How are metastatic brain tumors treated?
Tumors that have spread to the brain
from somewhere else in the body are usually treated with radiation therapy
and/or surgery. Chemotherapy may be used if the primary tumor is the kind that
responds well to chemotherapy. Clinical trials are under way to study new
treatments.
Next: Treatment options by type of adult brain tumor »
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