Sen. Kennedy's Brain Tumor Surgery Called a 'Success'

(Page 2)

Dr. Eugene Flamm, chair of the department of neurosurgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, said a patient with this type of brain tumor typically dies in about a year. "Some patients will die in less than a year, and others may live for two years," he said.

"No matter where the glioblastoma is located, it's not curable. When I talk to patients, I don't talk about cure. I talk about trying to control the tumor," Flamm said.

Dr. Ania Pollack, a neurosurgeon at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, agreed. "Life expectancy for a man Senator Kennedy's age with such a tumor is about 12 to 14 months," she said.

While there hasn't been much improvement in survival, there are experimental treatments, Pollack noted. These include immuno treatments and targeted chemotherapy and local radiation therapy, she said.

In fact, a study presented Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago reported that an experimental cancer vaccine is showing promise against the same general type of brain tumor diagnosed in Sen. Kennedy. The vaccine, when given with chemotherapy, more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme tumors -- from 6.4 months to 16.6 months.

Discussing Kennedy's post-surgery care, Flamm said radiation and chemotherapy are the usual course of treatment. Patients also typically receive anti-seizure medication, he noted.

"Radiation usually takes about four to six weeks," Flamm said. "While every protocol is different, chemotherapy is usually repeated every eight weeks if you are getting a response."

Whether Kennedy will be able to return to work in the Senate is not clear. "It's not just the physical part of it, it's a psychological burden. If Kennedy feels he wants to do it, he should do it," Flamm said. "I would think he'd have to wait until the end of radiation therapy. So, it would be several months."

The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,810 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord will be diagnosed this year in the United States. Approximately 13,070 people -- 7,420 men and 5,650 women -- will die from these malignant tumors. The cancers account for about 1.3 percent of all cancers and 2.2 percent of all cancer-related deaths in the United States.