Interstitial radiotherapy of brain tumors

Abstract

Background: The use of interstitial radiotherapy for treatment of brain tumors is well documented and leads to the increased survival rate of the patients. Objective: To determine the results of interstitial radiotherapy of brain tumors in Iran. Methods: In a retrospective study 20 patients with brain tumor (14 women and 6 men with the mean age of 23.8±18.3) were studied from 1991 to 1993. They were treated by interstitial radiotherapy. Findings: The pathology of tumors revealed that the most prevalent tumor was astrosytoma. Treatment was successful in 10 patients (50%), not changed in 7 (35%) and the mortality rate was 15%. Two year survival rate was 83.3 for the low grade and 64.6 for high grade astrosytoma. Conclusion: The use of interstitial radiotherapy for the treatment of brain tumors is recommended due to the results obtained in this study.