Glioblastoma multiforme: Advances in postsurgical management

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of primary brain tumor in adults, striking 8,000 to 10,000 people per year in North America alone. Even under the most favorable circumstances, patients die within the first 2 years of diagnosis. Recent advances in diagnostic imaging, microsurgical techniques, and medical management of this rare malignancy have led to more accurate diagnoses, staging, improvement in quality of life, and overall survival. In this review, the authors briefly summarize the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of GBM and then describe their experience in treating this disease after surgery using intraarterial chemotherapy-itself an unusual and still investigational approach-followed by concomitant radiotherapy and oral temozolomide therapy and then adjuvant maintenance therapy with temozolomide alone.