Intra-operative Radiation Therapy for Malignant Brain Tumors: Rationale, Method, and Treatment Results of Cerebral Glioblastomas

In radiation therapy for malignant brain tumours, the dose of radiation that can be safely delivered to a tumour is limited by the radiation tolerance of the adjacent normal brain tissue. Among various radiation modalities to produce local tumour eradication without unacceptable complications, we chose a large, single irradiation dose during the operation (intra-operative radiation therapy, IORT). In contrast to X-ray or Cobalt-60 gamma ray irradiation, IORT with a high-energy electron beam delivered by the Shimadzu 20 MeV betatron provides acceptable dose homogeneity with rapid fall-off of the radiation dose beyond the treatment volume. Thus, IORT has the advantage of precise demarcation of the target volume, minimum damage to surrounding normal tissues, and a high absorbed target dose (15-25 Gy in 5-10 min). On the basis of our experience with 170 patients treated by IORT, we established the treatment indications and method in patients with malignant brain tumours. IORT with a dose of 15-25 Gy was delivered to widely resected tumours followed by external radiation therapy. No acute or subacute complications were observed. Treatment results of 30 patients with glioblastoma treated by IORT (mean 18.3 Gy) combined with external radiation therapy (mean 58.5 Gy) resulted in a median survival of 119 weeks and a 2-year survival rate of 61%.