Canadian Neuro-Oncology '98--Eighth Biennial Meeting. 7-9 May 1998, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

The purpose of this meeting was to review the progress made in the treatment of human brain tumors using a variety of modalities. Unlike many cancers which have shown marked improvements in terms of patient survival with the advent of new techniques and drugs, the majority of patients with the most malignant form of a primary brain tumor (glioblastoma multiforme), continue to do poorly, and have a median survival of approximately 12 months. The meeting was appropriately organized into morning scientific sessions, in which experimental neuro-oncology studies were presented, and afternoon sessions which were comprised of more clinically relevant presentations covering the latest advances in surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapeutic agents. This review covers the highlights of this meeting in terms of the utility of accepted and novel chemotherapeutic agents for human brain tumors.