How can brainstem glioma patients be successfully treated?

  The patient, Yu, female, 12 years old, developed headache and vomiting in June 2010 with no obvious cause, which were obvious when opening eyes and accompanied by prolonged sleep time, and was found to have brainstem occupying lesion and hydrocephalus by head-enhanced MRI. In October 2014, he developed weakness in the right limb with numbness and unstable walking, and his symptoms worsened. He was considered to have implantation metastasis. He came to our hospital for further consultation.  After 3 times of chemotherapy, the patient had unstable walking, choking and coughing, and difficulty in swallowing, and the repeat MRI on December 2 showed that the medullary lesion was larger than that on November 3.  The family did not want to operate and wanted to continue chemotherapy. Our department then adjusted the chemotherapy regimen and continued chemotherapy for 2 cycles. During the course of chemotherapy, the patient’s symptoms were stable and did not worsen, and on January 21, 2015, the MRI was repeated: the medullary lesion was less intensive than on December 2.  So, chemotherapy was continued for 2 cycles according to the adjusted chemotherapy regimen. During this treatment period, the patient’s limb movement was significantly better than before, and he could walk with the support of one person, and the symptoms of water choking and swallowing difficulties were significantly relieved, and he could eat on his own and regained the ability to take care of himself.  The patient has now completed nearly 1 year of chemotherapy, the lesion continues to shrink, and the patient’s quality of life has improved significantly, and he is able to take care of himself and has a good mental status. Recent latest MRI on October 16, 2015.