[Brain tumors]

The outcome of brain tumor treatment has greatly improved through the development of imaging diagnosis techniques such as CT scan or MRI, and microsurgical techniques. During the past 25 years, an efficient therapeutic modality for benign brain tumors, which constitute approximately half of all brain tumors, has been well established through early diagnosis an precise surgical manipulation. The outcome of malignant brain tumors has also improved with radiotherapy together with chemotherapy or an adjuvant treatment with biological response modifiers such as interferon. Although a complete therapeutic strategy for medulloblastoma or germ cell tumors is expected in near future, the ideal therapeutic modalities for other malignant brain tumors remain further off. On the other hand, focal radiotherapeutic equipment such as the gamma knife or photonradiosurgical system have been introduced for the treatment of brain tumors and the efficacy has been clinically proved. Even though much progress in brain tumor treatment has been made, the prognosis of malignant brain tumors in general is still poor and the lives of those patients are quite limited. The development of gene therapy or immunotherapy for brain tumors is, thus, looked forward to in the 21 st century.