What is the best treatment for glioma

Glioma is a highly harmful brain tumor that is prone to recurrence. Once a glioma is diagnosed, treatment should be started as soon as possible. Since there are many treatments for glioma, patients should receive appropriate treatment based on their condition. So what is the best treatment for glioma?

Glioma is a tumor that occurs in the neuroectoderm. It is a common brain tumor, and its incidence rate ranks first among brain tumors. Glioma treatment methods are mainly divided into three categories: surgical treatment, radiotherapy, and drug treatment.

1. Surgical treatment:

Surgery is the preferred treatment for gliomas. The principle is to remove the tumor as much as possible while preserving neurological function. In the early stage, when the tumor is small, we should strive to remove it completely. When separating the tumor during surgery, we should do it in the normal tissue around the tumor. For larger tumors distributed in the lobes of the brain, we can combine lobectomy. For tumors involving two lobes without involving the basal ganglia, thalamus and contralateral side, we can also do hemispherectomy. For tumors occurring in important nuclei such as the brainstem and hypothalamus, if there is increased intracranial pressure, drainage surgery can be performed. For patients with critical conditions, blood pressure can be lowered and shunted first, and then surgery can be performed, depending on the condition.

2. Radiation therapy:

It is almost a routine treatment for all types of gliomas, but the efficacy evaluation varies. Except for medulloblastoma, which is highly sensitive to radiotherapy, and ependymoma, which is moderately sensitive, other types are not sensitive to radiotherapy. Some observations believe that the prognosis of radiotherapy and non-radiotherapy is the same. In addition, the impact of radiation-induced radiation necrosis on brain function should not be underestimated.

3. Drug treatment:

In principle, it is used for malignant tumors, but chemotherapy drugs are limited by the blood-brain barrier and the toxic side effects of the drugs, and the efficacy is still uncertain.