Combination treatment for brain cancer considered

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new combination of therapies for brain cancer improves survival without adverse impact on quality of life.
Glioblastoma is the most deadly form of brain cancer and patients generally have a poor survival outlook. Radiotherapy can be used to treat the condition. There is also a drug, temozolomide, which can be used to treat glioblastoma. The combination with radiotherapy may improve survival but it has been believed that this could be at the expense of quality of life.

Researchers in The Hague, The Netherlands, have conducted a trial of combination therapy in a group of nearly 600 patients with glioblastoma. They received either combination therapy or radiotherapy alone. There proved to be no differences in quality of life between the two groups when it came to fatigue, overall health, emotional functioning and other measures. Therefore, the study suggests that it is worthwhile giving combination therapy to patients with glioblastoma, for it can improve survival without decreasing the quality of life.

Source
The Lancet Oncology online 17th November 2005