The treatment of malignant brain stem gliomas in adults (a brief review of the literature)

The median survival rate for adult patients with brain stem glioma is, on average, 30 – 40 months. Taking into account the Karnovsky scale status, age, severity of symptoms, localization of the tumor in the brain stem and the degree of malignancy, the effectiveness of treatment of malignant brain stem gliomas in adults remains unsatisfactory. Currently, a relatively small number of studies on the effectiveness of radiotherapy for the treatment of adult brain stem glioma are presented in the literature. This review examines the possibilities and achievements of the treatment of malignant brain stem gliomas. The main focus is on the use of radiotherapy treatment of patients with this type of tumor.