RICHMOND, Va. -- May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. For thousands of patients and families each year, a brain tumor diagnosis can be life-changing, making access to advanced effective treatment especially important.VCU Massey Comprehensive CancerCenter, one of only two NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Virginia, is helping move care forward withone of the first next-generation brachytherapy treatments for brain tumors.
We were joined by Dr. Ryan Cleary, a neurosurgeon with VCU Health, to help us understand what this new treatment option means for patients.
What is this new brain tumor treatment, and how is it different?
Tile-based brachytherapy is a form of radiation,and we currently use it in patients with glioblastoma and metastatic brain tumors, which are two of the most common types of brain cancer in adults.Surgery is first line for treating both of these types of tumors but we can't ever get all of the cancer cells. For the cancer cells thatremain, wehave totreatwith chemotherapy and radiation.
Traditionally, radiation starts about 3 to 4 weeks after surgery, and we can't do it earlier than that because radiation also goes through the skin and that can cause problems with wound healing. Brachytherapy is a form of radiation that we implant into the brain during surgery at the end of surgery.Once we take the tumor out, we take the small tile that forms to the surrounding brain and place that into the cavity so we can start treating those remaining cancer cells immediately.
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Centeris one of only three centers in Virginia that offers this treatment, and it's the only center in Richmond that does.
Why is timing so important when treating aggressive brain tumors?
Treating these aggressive types of brain tumors is really challenging because we know that we can't get all of those cancer cells out, and because we can't start radiation immediately,we're essentially giving those remaining cells weeks to start growing back before we can start treatment.
Now we know that radiation is most effective within four weeks after surgery, but because of the challenges with wound healing, we can't deliver that earlier. Brachytherapy allows us to get around that problem. We can implant the radiation at the time of surgery and start delivering itimmediately to patients.
How can brachytherapy change the experience for patients who are going through treatment?
It might come as a surprise but almost 50% of patients who have glioblastoma and brain metastases don't receive their radiation within four weeks.Half of patients aren't getting radiation in the time period that we know is most effective. We know that if patients don't get treatment within radiation,every week that they're delayed increases the chances that they can have tumor recurrence.
Brachytherapy gives us a way around that. These patients can have a lot of problems arranging for transportation.Some ofthem live far away andcan'tmake it into their radiation sessions. And these are sick people who have a lot of other reasons that they might not be able to make a follow-up appointment. When we use brachytherapy,we're implantingit at the surgery and that's it.They don't have to come back. They have their radiation right away.
How does brachytherapy fit into the broader brain tumor program at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center?
Brachytherapy is one of just a number of different,really exciting brain cancer treatments that we have at Massey.We know that there is no single treatment for brain tumors.Every patient is unique, and that's why we have a comprehensive,team-based approach to taking care of these tumors.
When someone comes to Massey, they should know that they're going to be part of a multidisciplinary team that's going to include neurosurgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology and neuro-oncology. On the neurosurgery side of things, some of the other treatments that we have include awake surgeries for tumors that are in sensitive areas;laser therapy, that's a minimally invasive technique we use for deep-seated tumors; brachytherapy, and then access to all of our portfolio of clinical trials. And so really what we can provide as a team is a tailored approach that makes sure that we're providing the most advanced and personalized care for these patients.
For more information, call VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center at 1-877-4MASSEY or visit masseycancercenter.org.
Connect on social media too and learn more about clinical trials available at Massey.
