Brain PDD and PDT unlocking the mystery of malignant gliomas

Malignant brain tumours (MBTs) have one of the worst outcomes of human cancers today and their incidence is on the increase. Current treatment failure is usually due to local recurrence of the tumour rather than distant metastasis. In the last three decades we have seen many novel and potentially effective treatment strategies rise rapidly to the rescue. Sadly, however, the majority of these approaches were not good enough to withstand the harsh reality of the sceptical gaze of the scientific eye or the stringent health economics of this millennium. PDD and PDT, however, is one of the few therapies fighting back and still standing today. The results of its randomised controlled trials are eagerly awaited. To date the literature suggests that both PDD and PDT significantly prolong the time to tumour progression, reduce local recurrence, increase radical resection and prolong overall survival of MBTs. PDD and PDT are well tolerated by patients and worthwhile pursuing.