[Current status of radiation therapy in the treatment of malignant glioma:]

The patients of malignant glioma mostly consisting of anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) and glioblastoma (GM) were surveyed at the Committee for Compiling the Manual of Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Brain Tumors, organized by Japanese Association for Radiotherapy Research. Total 286 patients were treated at ten institutes during the period from January 1985 through December 1987. Numbers of cases with AA and GM were 130 and 156, respectively. Concerning the treatment volume, the medium field (50-100 cm2) was applied to 127 patients (37.4%) and the whole brain to 25 one (7.4%). The total dose was given by the range from 56 Gy to 65 Gy in 158 patients (47.6%). One-year survival ratio of AA and GM were 60-75% and 40-65%, respectively. For obtaining the improvement of local control rate, it is considered that the beam focusing onto the target lesion and the sufficient removal of the tumor are necessary and essential.