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The Radiation Oncology Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas was the first in North Texas to offer GliaSite®, a new system for delivering internal radiation therapy to patients with malignant brain tumors. Treatment of a brain tumor often includes removal of the tumor. Surgeons typically try to remove as much of the tumor as possible, which can be difficult due to the complex nature of the brain. Cancerous tumors that return following surgery often occur near the site of the original tumor.
GliaSite® is a new method of treatment that allows physicians on the medical staff to deliver a high dose of radiation internally and directly to the brain tumor site, while minimizing exposure to healthy brain tissue. Following surgical removal of the tumor, a GliaSite® balloon catheter is inserted into the remaining cavity. Several days following surgery, the balloon is filled with a liquid radiation source. The radiation works through the balloon on the edges of the tumor cavity, where future tumors are most likely to develop. Most patients remain at home while receiving the treatment, which takes about four to seven days. The liquid and the catheter are removed after the treatment is completed.
A team of neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists and neurointerventional radiologists on the medical staff plan each patient's GliaSite® treatment.
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