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.
List of people with brain tumors
The National Cancer Institute estimated 22,070 new cases of primary brain cancer and 12,920 deaths due to the illness in the United State in 2009. The age-adjusted incidence rate is 6.4 per 100,000 per year, and the death rate is 4.3 per 100,000 per year. The lifetime risk of developing brain cancer for someone born today is 0.60%. Only around a third of those diagnosed with brain cancer survive for five years after diagnosis. These high overall mortality rates are a result of the prevalence of aggressive types, such as glioblastoma multiforme. Nearly 14% of new brain tumor diagnoses occur in persons under 20 years of age.