Current Research

Research for astrocytoma is ongoing. The following advances may still be under investigation in clinical trials and may not be approved or available at this time. Always discuss all diagnostic and treatment options with your child’s doctor.

Improved methods of imaging and surgery. Imaging techniques are being developed that help surgeons better pinpoint the tumor’s location, to reduce or prevent tissue damage to the healthy parts of the CNS during treatment.

• Functional MRI (fMRI) is an imaging technique that identifies the parts of the brain that control speech, hearing, vision, touch, and movement. The specific locations of these functions are slightly different in every individual, so fMRI allows surgeons to plan surgery around these areas.
  
  
• Image-guided stereotaxis allows surgeons to visualize and operate on the brain using three-dimensional outlines of the brain and the tumor. Along with specialized software, these images help guide the surgeon to the tumor. Tumors that were once considered inoperable often can be removed with this technique.

Improved methods of delivering radiation therapy. Conformal radiation therapy is a way to deliver high doses of radiation directly to a tumor and not healthy tissue. This technique produces detailed three-dimensional maps of the brain and tumor, so doctors know exactly where to deliver the radiation treatment.

Other advances that are under investigation in clinical trials include new chemotherapy and other drugs that may stop or slow tumor growth.