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Published on: 6/10/2008
Last Visited: 6/10/2008
It cannot eliminate a tumor, said Dr. Patrick Wen, clinical director of the center for neuro-oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, but "it buys time."
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Also, Wen said, patients usually undergo chemotherapy in pill form, for as long as six months to a year.He said the pills, called Temodol, were "relatively well tolerated," but they can occasionally cause side effects, such as lowered blood counts, leaving patients tired and susceptible to infections.
Specialists said it is almost certain that sophisticated genetic analyses of Kennedy's tumor will be done to tailor treatments so they are most effective.
There has been some recent progress toward new treatments for malignant gliomas, Wen and others said.