Interstitial 252Cf neutron therapy for glioblastoma multiforme.

252Cf brachytherapy has been combined with whole brain photon beam therapy to 6000 rads in 5-7 weeks. In early phase I studies, all patients selected for study tolerated the procedure and the subsequent photon beam therapy. All showed improvement in performance status and decreased tumor size by CT scan evaluation, but it became clear that these tumors are of large size and bulk, produce marked adjacent brain edema, and require individualized implant therapy as well as high-dose external beam irradiation if response is to occur.