This section of our web site attempts to explain the latest brain tumor treatments that are in general use in plain English, with a brief overview of each, then details on the treatments and where to find them. Unlike the rest of the "Clinical Trials & Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors" site, this section is only the author's OPINIONS of the material. Use it for general information, to get ideas of what is available out there, but then discuss it with your own doctors.

If you disagree with anything said, have anything to add, or want to help write a topic, please let us know.

This section is updated frequently - so check back often!

Some of the papers are in PDF format. These require you to have installed the free PDF plug-in from Adobe.com Most new computers already have it. If your computer can't open the file, go to adobe.com and download the Adobe Acrobat Reader, then return here.

For the papers in PDF format, they will open up full screen without our menu at top. To get back here, just use the BACK button on your browser, or the backspace key!

• "State of the Art Treatment for Glioblastoma Multiforme" by Dr Henry Friedman
• Avastin + CPT-11 for Malignant Brain Tumors
• ASCO 2008 - Brain TUmor Highlights
• New X-ray Delivery Method Could Improve Radiation Therapy (Being funded by the Musella Foundation!)
• Novocure Trial - this is an exciting new trial using "tumor treating fields" to treat glioblastoma multiforme.
  • New article from Physics Today that explains how the device works.
  • Click here for a research paper on the initial trial.
  • Click HERE for a video about the device and the trial
  • Click HERE for details on the trial
  • Killing of tumor cells with tumor treating fields This is a technical article on the concept
• Treatments for Glioblastomas by Dr Marc C. Chamberlain
• Treatment Options for Glioblastomas By Ben Williams, Ph.D. (Experimental Psychology) ** Updated 8/24/2007!!! READ THIS FIRST!
• Avastin
  • CPT-11 and Avastin for malignant glioma. - early report on a promising new combinaton therapy!
  • Avastin and CPT-11, Etoposide or Carboplatin Amazing early results. This one is a must read. Look at the results in the table for thos who used Avastin + CPT-11
• Human Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (hCRF) (Xerecept) in Peritumoral Brain Edema - a possible replacement for Decadron!
  By Lisa U. Carr, MD, PhD
• Vaccine Therapies for Brain Tumors (this is in pdf format)
• Proton Beam Radiosurgery resources
• Abstracts from ASCO 2007 (Reported by Hong Lan)
• Ruta-6 - a homeopathic treatment for brain tumors: (Also check our video library)
  • Research paper on Ruta-6
  • Booklet on Dr Banerji's protocol for using Ruta-6 for Brain tumors
• By Christopher M. Duma, MD
  Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital
  Gamma Knife and Brain Tumor Center
  Newport Beach, CA
  949.642.6787 http://www.cduma.com/
  • “Up-Front Radiosurgical ‘Leading Edge’ Boost Radiosurgery for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme” (Added 12/5/2005)
  • Intracavitary placement of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells after resection of primary glioblastoma: an interim report. (Added 12/5/2005)
  • Malignant Brain Tumor Treatment Protocol (Verfied 12/5/2005)
• Brain Tumor Treatments.
  • Gleevec
• Cyberknife Radiosurgery - A new form of robotic stereotactic radiosurgery.
• Email Communication for Patients with a life-threatening illness - one way of dealing with keeping the family "in the loop"!
• Update to Social Security Disability Rules
• Summary and discussion of Ben Williams' Book: "Surviving 'Terminal' Cancer" by Paul Muench Added 11/17/2003
• Brain Metastases - an overview (added 8/13/2003)
• The Anti-angiogenic basis of metronomic chemotherapy. (added 7/29/2004) - Doesn't specifically mention brain tumors, but there are trials of this approach going on now with brain tumors. This paper (which is on the technical side) explains the rationale for this approach.
• Boron Neutron Capture Therapy:
  • Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of Brain Tumors. (Note - this is also on the technical side and is a large file.) Added 8/24/2004
  • Introduction to the special edition of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology on Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). (Note - this is on the technical side - but points to a lot of information on this treatment.)
• Poly ICLC for brain tumors (added 7/17/2003)
• Reolysin - Explanation of how oncolytic viruses work. Watch the animation! (Added 3/25/2004) (Note: this link brings you out of our website into Oncolytic Biotech's website. We are not responsible for thier content.. we placed the link here because it is a very important concept.)
• High dose chemo for Pediatric Medulloblastoma and PNET tumors (added 1/16/2005 (but article is from May 2001)) ! Looks pretty good.
• Oligodendrogliomas and Anaplastic Oligodendrogliomas: Features, treatments and prognosis. (Note: this is a large .pdf file. May take a few minutes to load)
• Web resources for pediatric brain tumors. (added 12/24/2003) (This is a microsoft WORD file. If you have trouble viewing it, let us know and I will convert it to a different format)
• Reports From the 2003 ASCO (American Association Of Clinical Oncology):
  
  • Day 1 highlights
  • Day 2 highlights
  • Day 3 highlights
• Extreme Drug Resistance (EDR) Assay - A test of your tumor which may help with the selection of chemotherapy drugs. Must be planned before a surgery.
• Phase 1/2 randomized study of radiation and Temodar vs. radiation and BCNU for Anaplastic Astrocytoma patients. READ this if you haven't had radiation yet!
• Pituitary tumors - a short overview.
• REOLYSIN® - A new experimenatal treatment for brain tumors.
• Brain Tumor Guide - Newly diagnosed people should start here first to get an overview of everything before exploring the rest of this website!
• Brain Tumor Symptoms: Overview | Detailed
• 'Leading Edge' Gamma Knife radiosurgery for primary malignant brain tumors.- this is a new way of using the gamma knife.. this paper is in a pdf. See instructions above if you have a problem loading the paper.
• Immunotherapy for brain tumors. 2 papers by Dr. Roberta Hayes
• Gliadel^® Wafer and the Management of Malignant Gliomas - a video interview by David Bailey with Allan J. Hamilton,MD
• Temodar® (Temozolomide) For Brain Tumors:
  • General Information
  • Review
    By Andrew Parker
  • Recent papers and abstracts on Temodar
• Gliadel® Wafer A new way to deliver chemotherapy to the tumor bed. Read this first if you are about to have a surgery, then ask your neuorsurgeon about it!
• Medulloblastoma
• What is a Karnofsky Score?
• VectorVision® - image-guided surgery.
  By Fred Epstein, MD.
• Gleevec® for brain tumors - an interesting new experimental treatment.
• High Dose Tamoxifen For Brain Tumors:
  • Review
    By Andrew Parker (Updated 6/8/2004)
  • Reprint of Research Paper
    By William Couldwell, MD, PhD.
    Neurosurgeon
    NY Medical College, Valhalla, NY
• Brain Tumor Virtual TrialAbstract about our study!
• Seizures: What to do if you are having a seizure!
• Mathematical Modeling of Brain Cancer A very interesting paper on the use of a mathematical modeling of brain tumors to find brain tumor treatments.
• Arthur's List Of important tips for the newly diagnosed!!
• Brainstem gliomas Added 9/7/03. Note - this is a large file in .pdf format - it may take a long time to load.
• CPT-11
  By Virginia V. Jory, Ph.D.
• PCV
  By Danita Acquafredda And George Hunter
• Thalidomide
  By Jon Glass, MD
  Neuro-oncologist
  NYU Medical Center, NY, NY
• Anaplastic Oligodendrogliomas: A new test for chemo sensitivity
• VP-16 (Etoposide)
  By Kerryn Brookes
• BCNU
  
• What Are Clinical Trials
  By Terri Armstrong, RN, MS, NP, CS
  Neuro-Oncology Nurse Practitioner
  Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
• Chemotherapy For Brain Tumors
  by Dr. Mark Levin
  Co-Director, Medical Oncology & Hematology
  The Brookdale University Hospital And Medical Center
• Fractionated Stereotactic Radiosurgery + Taxol
  by Dr. Gil Lederman
  Director, Radiation- Oncology
  Staten Island University Hospital
• Functional Image Guided Surgery
  By Michael Schulder, M.D.
  Director Image-Guided Neurosurgery, Section of Neurosurgery
  New Jersey Medical School
• Gamma Knife Radiosurgery
  By Kenneth Ott, M.D., F.A.C.S
  Executive Director, San Diego Gamma Knife Center
  Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, CA
• Childhood Hydrocephalus: Clinical Features, Treatment, and the Slit-Ventricle Syndrome Explanation of the use of shunts, by Dr. Arno Fried.
• Advances In Neurosurgery
  By Peter McL. Black, M.D., Ph.D.
  Children & Women's Hospital
  Boston, MA
• Peacock System
  By Dr. Robert Selker
  Director - Center For Neuro-Oncology, Western Pennsylvania Cancer Institute
• Stereotactic Radiosurgery
  By Jeffery A. Williams, M.D.
  Director, Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Volumetric Stereotactic Procedures - Computer guided Neurosurgery - explanation of the procedure by Dr. Patrick J. Kelly
• Regulus Navigator For Brain Surgery - A new type of computer guided Neurosurgery - by Dr. Patrick J. Kelly
• Toxin Therapy For Brain Tumors New type of treatment. Interesting reading.
• Chemosensitivity Testing Testing the tumor to see which drugs may work the best! Important!!
• 50 Questions to help communicate with people who can't talk. By Jim Kenzig
• Airline Guidelines for flying
  Read before flying.. check the sections on seizures, blood clots and anesthesia.
• Thoughts on Alternative Treatments
  Guest editorial by Dr. Robert Fink
  Click HERE for a list of FAQs and articles about brain tumors by Dr. Fink!

The material provided here is controversial and is only the opinion of the person noted as author of a topic. It is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice or instruction.
Consult your health care professional for advice relating to a medical problem or condition.