An illustrated DNA strand with the words Brain Cancer embedded in the chain, symbolizing the disease also referred to as glioblastoma multiform, anaplastic glioma, astrocytoma, and oligodendroglioma. An illustrated DNA strand with the words Brain Cancer embedded in the chain, symbolizing the disease also referred to as glioblastoma multiform, anaplastic glioma, astrocytoma, and oligodendroglioma.

Glioblastoma stage IV treatment in Germany

Glioblastoma is a stage IV tumor of the central nervous system, which is the highest grade. This is not only the most aggressive but also one of the most common types of brain cancer. German Cancer Centers successfully deal with the treatment of this disease. Doctors can remove the tumor with a surgical method and destroy it with radiation or a laser. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be used to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery.

You are welcome to make your appointment at a clinic through the Booking Health service to undergo your glioblastoma stage IV treatment in Germany. Our website presents the cost of medical services in the best German clinics.

Surgical treatment 

The most effective glioblastoma treatment is surgery. Surgical options are as follows:

  • stereotactic biopsy; 
  • partial resection;
  • complete resection.

Whenever possible, doctors strive to perform a complete tumor resection. This usually succeeds in Germany because they use the latest technology when performing surgery. Doctors use modern neuronavigation systems to find a tumor, determine its boundaries, and lay a safe route to it. If necessary, intraoperative neurofunctional diagnostics can be performed to avoid damage to functionally important areas of the brain.

Doctors in specialized clinics use metabolic navigation (intraoperative fluorescent diagnostics). They inject a substance that causes cancer cells to glow with a particular mode of operation of the surgical microscope. As a result, a doctor can better distinguish healthy tissue from tumor tissue, can remove glioblastoma completely and, at the same time, avoid removing normal tissues so as not to cause a neurological deficit.

Radiation therapy 

Stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery can be performed:

  • as an independent treatment method, if the tumor is inoperable or a patient has medical contraindications for surgery;
  • as a method of adjuvant (postoperative) treatment to destroy the remaining cancer cells;
  • to suppress a recurrent tumor that has returned after surgery.

Radiosurgery differs from radiation therapy in that it can destroy the tumor within a single session. This technique can rarely be used for glioblastoma since this type of neoplasm has no clear boundaries.

Doctors more often resort to stereotactic radiotherapy: the tumor is irradiated in several fractions. Germany offers the latest techniques, including CyberKnife, Gamma Knife, and proton therapy. These are safe, as they deliver radiation to the tumor from different sides and almost do not damage healthy brain tissue.

Other treatment methods 

Germany also uses other treatments for glioblastoma. These are as follows: 

  • chemotherapy is provided to all patients after surgery and can also be used in the advanced stages when surgery is contraindicated;
  • alternating electric field therapy involves the constant use of a portable device;
  • MRI-guided laser ablation can be used instead of surgery if it is medically contraindicated.

In Germany, doctors can destroy the tumor with a laser if it cannot be removed during surgery. They insert the thinnest laser fiber through a hole in the skull, just over 3 mm in size. This way, even neoplasms located deep in the brain tissue can be safely destroyed.

If you want to travel to Germany and undergo your glioblastoma treatment 1in one of the best clinics in the world, please use the services of the Booking Health company. On our website, you can see the prices, compare the cost of treatment in different hospitals and make your treatment appointment at the best price. We will organize your trip, shorten your treatment’s waiting period, and provide support throughout your stay in Germany.

  1. Janjua, Taskeen Iqbal, et al. “Frontiers in the treatment of glioblastoma: Past, present and emerging.” Advanced drug delivery reviews 171 (2021): 108-138. ↩︎

Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology

Author

Icy Health Editorial Team

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