High-dose steroid therapy of intracranial tumour in the elderly

Twenty elderly patients with intracranial tumour were treated with high-dose steroids (beta- or dexamethasone 12--16 mg per day). Six of eight patients with primary intracranial malignancies and four of six with metastatic tumours showed a definite response of conscious level and/or neurological deficit. One of two patients with lymphoma responded but neither of two with meningioma. Six patients were able to return home. Two patients suffered serious, and three minor, side-effects attributable to steroid therapy, but this treatment has a definite place in the management of intracranial tumour in old age.