Brain tumor
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive (grade IV) and most common form of a malignant brain tumor. Even when aggressive multimodality therapy consisting of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgical excision is used, median survival is only 12–17 months. Standard therapy for glioblastoma multiforme consists of maximal surgical resection of the tumor, followed by radiotherapy between two and four weeks after the surgical procedure to remove the cancer, then by chemotherapy, such as temozolomide. Most patients with glioblastoma take a corticosteroid, typically dexamethasone, during their illness to relieve symptoms. Experimental treatments include targeted therapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, boron neutron capture therapy and gene therapy.
Ovarian cancer
The five-year survival rate for all stages of ovarian cancer is 46%; the one-year survival rate is 72% and the ten-year survival rate is 35%. For cases where a diagnosis is made early in the disease, when the cancer is still confined to the primary site, the five-year survival rate is 92.7%. About 70% of women with advanced disease respond to initial treatment, most of whom attain complete remission, but half of these women experience a recurrence 1–4 years after treatment. Brain metastasis is more common in stage III/IV cancer but can still occur in cancers staged at I/II. People with brain metastases survive a median of 8.2 months, though surgery, chemotherapy, and whole brain radiation therapy can improve survival.