Speech mapping is done under sedation and local anesthesia and requires a cooperative patient. Motor mapping can be performed under general anesthesia.
Radiation Radiation is effective in the treatment of both primary and metastatic brain tumors. The
treatments are designed to maximize the lethal effects on the tumor and minimize the harmful effects to the surrounding brain. Computer-generated models are used to plan the dose and field of irradiation.
Treatments are generally given five days a week. Some patients may become fatigued or develop neurological problems related to radiation-induced brain swelling. This problem is usually brief and is treated with steroid medication to alleviate the swelling. A full course of conventional radiation can be administered only once. Exposing the brain to further extensive radiation could produce brain injury and create a disabling or a life-threatening problem.
New methods of delivering additional radiation to brain tumors are being used in investigational treatment protocols across the country. One of these approaches is to administer the radiation several times each day. Using these "hyperfractionated" schedules, a higher dose can be safely administered. Radiation-sensitizing drugs can be given in an attempt to increase the effect on a tumor.
Two techniques have been developed that provide a focal boost of radiation to a tumor after a conventional course of radiation has been given.
• With interstitial brachytherapy , radioactive seeds are placed, with computer guidance, directly into a tumor
