American Brain Tumor Association News

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Radiation Seeds May Successfully Treat Single Metastatic Brain Tumors
Radiation seeds may be as effective as whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), with fewer side effects, in treating patients with single, metastatic brain tumors. Radiation seeds are titanium casings, about the size of a grain of rice, filled with low-level radioactivity. The study reviewed the records of 72 patients treated with surgery and radiation seeds without prior radiation. In 90 percent of the cases, doctors were able to safely maintain control of the tumor at the surgical site without the need for WBRT. In addition, the overall survival rate of patients treated with radiation seeds compared favorably to that of patients who had undergone WBRT. Read a free summary of the study in the May Journal of Neuro-Oncology. Read a news release on the research from the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute.
Researchers Discover Potentially Non-Invasive Brain Tumor Treatment
Scientists believe they have taken the first step toward a minimally invasive brain tumor treatment that combines chemotherapy drugs encased in heat-sensitive microbubbles called liposomes, with heat administered from the end of a catheter. In a series of experiments in animal models and simulated tissues, researchers demonstrated that they could build a catheter thin enough to be placed in one of the brain's main blood vessels. The catheter would provide real-time 3D images of the brain, while generating enough heat to melt the liposome shells carrying chemotherapy, releasing the drug directly at the tumor site. Such a treatment would reduce the side effects associated with traditional surgery, systemic chemotherapy and radiation. Read a news release on the research from Duke University.
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