Malignant Gliomas

Radiation Medicine Rounds is a trinary, hard cover periodical designed to provide an up-to-date review of a dedicated radiation medicine topic of interest to clinicians and scientists who are involved in the care of patients receiving radiotherapy. It is intended to serve as both a reference and instructional tool for students, housestaff, fellows, practicing clinicians, medical physicists, cancer biologists, radiobiologists, and interdisciplinary colleagues throughout the oncology spectrum. This issue of Radiation Medicine Rounds discusses the more salient topics surrounding the role of radiation therapy for malignant gliomas. The specialty of radiation therapy has increased in complexity over the years, yet as technology improves, the goal of improving outcomes while decreasing toxicity remains critical. Malignant gliomas remain among the most devastating of all malignancies, yet as conventional treatments (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy) have become optimized overall survival has improved. The underlying molecular and genetic mechanisms of these tumors are becoming better understood, with one of the most important realizations being that histopathologically identical malignant gliomas often demonstrate very distinct clinical behaviors. Malignant Gliomas provides the practitioner with a current overview of best practices, recent research, and future directions in the management of this complex and challenging cancer.