New treatment for most aggressive brain cancer may help patients live longer

A new therapy for the most aggressive type of brain cancer can extend patients' survival while cutting the length of treatment.
The cancer, glioblastoma, is fast-moving and incurable. It's most common in older adults, said Dr. Sujay Vora, a radiation oncologist at the Mayo Clinic, and the median survival time for people diagnosed over age 65 is between six and nine months.
"We're starting to see more and more cases of it as our adult population ages," Vora told Live Science. The disease killed Sen. John McCain in 2018.
One reason the disease is difficult to treat is, by the time it starts causing symptoms, the cancer is usually embedded in the brain by meandering tentacles of malignant tissue. These tendrils are hard to remove while sparing healthy brain tissue, and the tumors often grow back within months of surgery due to cancerous tissue being left behind, Vora said.