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.
Cancer survival rates
Several types of cancer are associated with high survival rates, including breast, prostate, testicular and colon cancer. Brain and pancreatic cancers have much lower median survival rates which have not improved as dramatically over the last forty years. Indeed, pancreatic cancer has one of the worst survival rates of all cancers. Small cell lung cancer has a five-year survival rate of 4% according to Cancer Centers of America's Website. The American Cancer Society reports 5-year relative survival rates of over 70% for women with stage 0-III breast cancer with a 5-year relative survival rate close to 100% for women with stage 0 or stage I breast cancer. The 5-year relative survival rate drops to 22% for women with stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer.