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This procedure offers new hope to people suffering from some forms of brain cancer,� said Neal Naff, M.D., Department of Neurosurgery, Sinai Hospital. By allowing us to target the specific area of treatment after surgery, it decreases the chances that the tumor will reoccur at the tumor resection site while reducing the potential of additional brain damage by limiting the amount of radiation that the normal, healthy brain receives.� In the past the options available to those who have this type of serious medical condition were limited. The GliaSite� system offers them a new avenue to go down in their fight against this deadly disease,� said Mark J. Brenner, M.D., F.A.C.R., chief, Department of Radiation Oncology, Sinai Hospital.

Doctors insert an uninflated GliaSite� RTS balloon catheter inside the space left behind after the malignant brain tumor is surgically removed. The other end of the catheter extends outside of the skull and is concealed underneath the skin at the top of the head. Once the patient has recovered from surgery a solution containing Iotrex�, a liquid radiation source specifically designed to treat patients with malignant tumors, is injected into the catheter and fills the balloon. Iotrex� delivers radiation to the edges of the tumor cavity, targeting places where cancer may remain. The patient remains in the hospital for approximately three to seven days, until the right amount of radiation is delivered. The Iotrex� mixture is then withdrawn and the GliaSite� RTS catheter is removed during a brief surgical procedure. The safety and performance of the GliaSite� RTS is documented in a multicenter clinical study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, involving patients with recurrent brain tumors. On average, patients who received the GliaSite� RTS treatment had a survival rate of 387 days, with a 52 percent survival rate after one year.

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