Magnetic Resonance-Guided Laser Induced Thermal Therapy for Glioblastoma Multiforme: A Review

Figure 4

MR imaging of four patients with recurrent glioblastoma, following LITT on the day of treatment (D0), one month following (M1), three months following (3 M), and six months following (M6). Recurrence was observed in all patients, with a mean progression-free survival time of 37 days. Though LITT is suited for addressing many tissue types and tumor shapes/sizes, GBM masses are often diffuse in brain tissue. In order to discriminate between healthy and diseased tissue, highly specific therapies are desirable. Though more developed surgical methods may help in an immediate sense, reliance on simple hyperthermia outside the zones of ablative heat may not be sufficient for addressing microtumors seen in GBM.