At a private Jaipur hospital, doctors implanted medicated wafers (Gliadel) directly into the brain of a 40-year-old man diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor.

The patient complained of frequent headaches, and an MRI (brain) with spectroscopy revealed that he had Glioblastoma, a type of aggressive malignancy that affects the brain and spinal cord. Medicated wafers carrying carmustine, a chemotherapeutic medication, were placed into the brain after the tumor was removed. These wafers would spontaneously break down over time, liberating the chemotherapeutic medication into the tumor’s site of origin.

Experts stated that this is a type of brachytherapy that prevented systemic side effects that occurred when the medication was delivered orally or intravenously and superior chemotherapeutic administration to the target area by bypassing the blood-brain barrier. After the medicated wafers were implanted, radiation was used to kill any remaining tumor cells and prevent regrowth.

Surgery, followed by radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy, is the standard treatment for Glioblastoma. Brain tumor cases are on the rise in India, according to the National Health Portal (NHP). Most patients live for 9-12 months after diagnosis with malignant brain tumors, and only 3% survive for more than three years.

Researchers have created tools to enable neurosurgeons better understand pathophysiology, which will aid in therapy and extend the lives of brain cancer patients. (ETHealthWorld, June 08, 2022)