Convection-Enhanced Delivery for Management of Malignant Gliomas.

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a novel method of bypassing the blood-brain barrier for administration of therapeutic agents directly into brain with a potential to provide concentrations that cannot be achieved with systemic drug delivery. This technique has grown significantly over the last 20 years with better understanding of the biomechanics of infusion and of the delivery process. Though clinical trials of CED in malignant brain tumors have not yielded the desired results, a number of new biologically active compounds and pharmaceutical preparations, their carriers, modes of delivery, and improved catheter designs are continually being tested, which hold promise for the future.