Is there a new way to treat malignant brain tumors?

The 76-year-old Ms. Jiang, who suffered from glioma and was no longer eligible for surgery, was treated by the Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of the PLA General Hospital with anti-angiogenic targeted therapy, which yielded good results in terms of significant shrinkage of the tumor, subsiding of the peritumoral edema, and disappearance of the patient’s self-awareness of her symptoms. According to Prof. Zhang Zhiwen, director of the department, this is the 27th patient they have treated with this technique. Ms. Jiang, who was a professor of Tsinghua University before her retirement, suddenly felt weakness in her left limb, walked unsteadily and sometimes fell down in September last year. She went to the hospital for examination and found that there was an occupying space of about 6 cm in the right temporal region, which was diagnosed as a malignant glioma, and she was admitted to the Neurosurgery Department of the All-Army Treatment Center of Malignant Neurological Tumors and the First Affiliated Hospital of the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army. Professor Zhang Zhiwen, the director of the department, organized all the doctors in the department to conduct a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the patient’s condition and physical status, and believed that surgical treatment should be preferred according to the condition, but the patient had a history of hypertension and cardiovascular disease for more than 10 years, accompanied by diabetes, and with his age, the risk of surgery was very high, and the patient himself expressed his unwillingness to accept surgical treatment. After many discussions and communication with the patient, they decided to treat him with anti-tumor angiogenesis targeted therapy. After two treatments, nuclear magnetic review, the original tumor was significantly reduced, and basically no enhancement effect, peritumoral edema also significantly subsided, indicating that the tumor has been largely necrotic, the patient consciously dizziness, limb weakness and other symptoms disappeared, and was recently discharged from the hospital. Zhang Zhiwen said that tumor blood vessels are the morphological basis of tumor cell growth and metastasis. In addition to providing nutrients to tumor cells and leading to tumor growth and recurrence, tumor blood vessels also promote the increase of permeability of tumor and normal blood vessels, and a large amount of intravascular fluid exudation leads to peritumoral edema and increased cranial pressure. Anti-angiogenesis targeted therapy is to use angiogenesis inhibitors (bevacizumab) to specifically inhibit the proliferation and activity of tumor vascular endothelial cells, thus preventing tumor angiogenesis and cutting off the nutritional supply of the tumor, so that the cancer cells do not get enough nutrients and apoptosis. This technology was approved by FDA in 2009 and applied in the treatment of malignant brain tumors and achieved good results. Since last year, the Department of Neurosurgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital has used this technology to treat 27 cases of malignant brain tumor patients and achieved ideal therapeutic effect. Zhang Zhiwen said that anti-angiogenic targeted therapy is suitable for brain malignant tumors, especially for malignant brain tumor patients who can not be operated due to postoperative recurrence, special location, or poor physical conditions due to old age and frailty, etc. It opens up a new treatment pathway.