Adult Brain Tumors Treatment (PDQ®)
Cancer Information Summaries « English « Health professionals « A
Recurrent Brain Tumors
Note: Some citations in the text of this section are followed by a level of evidence. The PDQ editorial boards use a formal ranking system to help the reader judge the strength of evidence linked to the reported results of a therapeutic strategy. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Levels of Evidence for more information.)
Standard treatment options:
- Surgery alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy. [1] [2] [3]
- Radiation therapy if not previously used, alone or with chemotherapy.
- Interstitial radiation therapy. [4]
- Chemotherapy. [5]
- In a nonrandomized trial of patients with recurrent anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and oligoastrocytomas, significant response rates (i.e., 29% complete response and 29% partial response) were seen with procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine after radiation therapy. [6] [ Level of evidence: 3iiiDiv] Time to progression was prolonged in both tumor types.
Treatment options under clinical evaluation:
- Numerous clinical trials (particularly phase II trials) are evaluating the use of newer drugs in the treatment of brain tumors.
- Carmustine (BCNU)-impregnated polymer may be implanted during surgery. [7] [8]
Current Clinical Trials
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI’s PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent adult brain tumor. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.
References
Leibel SA, Gutin PH, Sneed PK, et al.: Interstitial irradiation for the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology Updates 3 (7): 1-11, 1989.
This record was last updated on January 2nd, 2009.
About the PDQ Cancer Information Summaries from the National Cancer Institute
PDQ (Physician Data Query) is a comprehensive cancer database published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It contains peer-reviewed summaries on cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics, and supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine; a registry of cancer clinical trials; and directories of physicians, professionals who provide genetics services, and organizations that provide cancer care.
The PDQ Cancer Information Summaries are peer reviewed and updated monthly by six editorial boards comprised of specialists in adult treatment, pediatric treatment, supportive care, screening and prevention, genetics, and complementary and alternative medicine. The Boards review current literature from more than 70 biomedical journals, evaluate its relevance, and synthesize it into clear summaries. Many of the summaries are also available in Spanish.
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