[Preoperative radiotherapy of brain tumors]

Irradiation prior to radical surgical removal has been performed 51 times in 48 cases of brain tumor over the last 7 years. Through this procedure, all cases have attained good results in both clinical and CT evaluations. In the course of radiotherapy, various doses of corticosteroids and/or ventricular drainage were applied to prevent dangerous brain swelling and hydrocephalus. Total radiation doses were 40-50 Gy in primary cases and 30-40 Gy in recurrent cases. Through this preoperative radiotherapy, tumors showed reduction of their feeding vessels (78.9%) on angiography and/or became necrotized with cyst formation. This facilitated case of surgery and permitted radical resection of these tumors (41%). Especially, in cases of germ cell tumors of mixed type and medulloblastomas, this procedure permitted radical resection in 75% and 100% of cases, respectively. Among glioblastomas and grade 3 astrocytomas, 21.7% were radically resected and the patients involved showed a good relative survival rate. This method may actually facilitate radical cure of malignant brain tumors soon.