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Treatment Option Overview
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There are different types of treatment for patients with adult
brain tumors.
Different types of treatment are available for patients with adult brain tumors. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and
some are being tested in clinical
trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research
study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new
treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new
treatment is better than the standard
treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Three types of standard treatment are used:
Surgery
Surgery is used to diagnose and treat adult brain tumors, as described in the General Information section of this summary.
Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to increase the chances of a cure, is called adjuvant therapy.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. One type of external radiation therapy is hyperfractionated radiation therapy, in which the daily dose of radiation is divided into two or more smaller doses that are usually given hours apart. Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. The way the radiation therapy is given depends on the type of tumor and where it is in the brain.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the spinal column, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). Combination chemotherapy is treatment using more than one anticancer drug. To treat brain tumors, a dissolving wafer may be used to deliver an anticancer drug directly to the brain tumor site after the tumor has been removed by surgery. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type of tumor and where it is in the brain.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Other types of radiation therapy
- Radiosensitizers: Drugs that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Combining radiation therapy with radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.
- Hyperfractionated radiation therapy: Radiation treatment in which the daily dose of radiation is divided into two or more smaller doses that are usually given hours apart. Hyperfractionated radiation therapy is used as a standard treatment for a brain stem glioma. This is also called superfractionated radiation therapy.
- Accelerated-fraction radiation therapy: Radiation treatment in which the daily dose of radiation is divided into three separate doses and is given every day during treatment.
- Intraoperative radiation therapy: A cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells during cancer surgery.
- Stereotactic radiosurgery: A type of radiation therapy that uses a rigid head frame attached to the skull to aim high-dose radiation beams directly at the tumors. This causes less damage to nearby healthy tissue. This is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery and radiation surgery. This procedure does not involve surgery.
Hyperthermia therapy
Hyperthermia therapy is a
treatment in which body tissue is heated above normal temperature 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.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.
Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.
Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.
Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's clinical trials database.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. This is sometimes called re-staging.
Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups.
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