Question from Ang:
My father is a 2 year GBM survivor. His most recent MRI reveals a 2 mm area in the frontoparietal region that is on the opposite of his primary tumor sight. He has had 2 surgeries, rad. therapy, and numerous chemotherapies. The physician has given gamma as an alternative to treat this new area. What is your advice on this situation and with this type of tumor what can we hope to gain from the procedure?
Dear Ang,
Your question is a good one. A patient with a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) typically should have cytoreductive surgery followed by standard radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Boost Gamma Knife surgery can be appropriate to treat focal recurrences of a patient’s GBM. At our center, I have observed fairly high local tumor control rates in a select group of GBM patients who have received Gamma Knife surgery.
A recent article on Gamma Knife surgery for GBM patients performed at our center was published by NEUROSURGICAL FOCUS and is available on-line at the following web site: http://www.aans.org/education/journal/neurosurgical/Apr06/20-4-17-0947.pdf
Please contact me directly with any more specific questions.
Sincerely,
Jason Sheehan
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