New Strategy Developments in Brain Tumor Therapy

A.A. Brandes; U. Basso; L.M. Pasetto; M. Ermani

Abstract

Background: The incidence of brain and other central nervous system malignant neoplasias is 6.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants-years, and appears to increase with increasing age (1.2 % per year), with the greatest rate of increase in the population over age 70 years. Material and methods: Chemotherapy remains part of the treatment that includes surgery and radiation therapy for the management of malignant gliomas. This article reviews the new drugs that have been introduced in the treatment of these patients in the latest years, their specific cellular targets, the objective response, the TTP and the MST. Results: The most encouraging results to date come from studies of temozolomide, which is one of the most active and best tolerated drugs in recent years, and from clinical trials of CPT11. Conclusions: New approaches to chemotherapy treatment are necessary. Enrollment of patients into rigorous, well conducted, clinical trials, both at tumor diagnosis and recurrence, will generate new information regarding investigational therapies, and may offer improved therapies for patients with malignant gliomas.