Glioblastoma Multiforme Case Studies

Glioblastoma Multiforme

Introduction

Within this paper an overview of Glioblastoma Multiforme, also known simply as Glioblastoma or GBM, the most common yet unfortunately most deadly form of brain cancer, will be provided. The purpose of this is to inform readers on the signs, symptoms and prognosis of this deadly disease in an effort to help provide a greater understanding, and to perhaps raise awareness, of a relatively unknown, yet extremely serious form of cancer.

Background

Glioblastoma multiforme manifests as a malignant tumor in the brain of the affected individual and is often formed of several cell types, making treatment difficult. It is the most common grade IV brain cancer and usually forms on either the temporal or frontal lobe,

The prognosis who have contracted GBM is not optimistic, due to it being a fast growing, highly malignant tumor in the brain. The survival rate is considerably low, with only around 10% of patients surviving for five or more years even with proper treatment. Median survival of Glioblastoma is only 14.6 months with treatment while a two year survival rate is around 30%. Interestingly, children with high grade brain tumors such as glioblastoma have seen a five year survival rate at around 25% (“Glioblastoma (GBM)”, American Brain Tumor Association). A major pattern seen in those diagnosed with glioblastoma is that 80% of the patients had an extra copy of chromosome 7 The cancer also affects mostly adult white males. ("Demographic Variation in Incidence of Adult Glioma by Subtype, United States, 1992-2007," BMC

It’s important to keep in mind that, because this tumor is located in an area that is very difficult to safely operate on and develops so quickly and aggressively, surgery is mostly looked at as merely the first stage in treatment, and not as an attempt at a cure. The surgery merely acts as a way to provide temporary relief for the patient by removing some of the cancerous tissue to relieve pressure. The method of operation is a craniotomy. In this operation, some bone is taken out of the skull so surgeons can attempt to remove the tumor. After the surgery is completed the bone is not immediately replaced, or in some cases the bone is not replaced at all. The main reason for this is so possible post operative swelling doesn’t cause further pressure. The next step is usually radiation therapy, which is used to treat many types of cancers because the radiation damages the cancer cell 's’ DNA to the point where it effectively kills the cell. Radiation may be conducted alone or in combination with other treatment methods such as chemotherapy. Radiation therapy may also be the first option if surgery is not possible. There are two main methods used in radiation therapy: Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and Stereotactic radiation therapy. The IMRT method is usually used with tumors that cannot easily be reached with surgery and are located near highly important locations in the brain. The radiation delivery system