The role of radiation therapy in the treatment of astrocytomas. Berger MS, Ghatan S, Haglund MM, et al. Seizure control following tumor surgery for childhood cortical low-grade gliomas. Carboplatin and vincristine for recurrent and newly diagnosed low-grade gliomas of childhood. The therapy for both children and adults with supratentorial high-grade astrocytoma includes surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy is administered to a field that widely encompasses the entire tumor.
The radiation therapy dose is usually at least 5,400 cGy. Chemotherapy with a nitrosourea has been demonstrated to prolong survival in adults by approximately 3 months. Chemotherapy may also be useful in children with this disease. A more notable result was seen in children with glioblastoma multiforme who were treated on one prospective, randomized trial with adjuvant lomustine, vincristine, and prednisone. Clinical trials that evaluate chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy are ongoing.