July 19, 2017 11:18 p.m. ET
Treatments for glioblastoma include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation; the average prognosis is somewhere between 14 and 18 months
Glioblastomas, the type of brain tumor Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has been diagnosed with, are the most common form of primary brain cancers and are extremely aggressive, according to neurologists.
Standard treatment includes surgery and a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. Surgery alone isn’t enough because of the way glioblastomas grow.
The tumors spread into normal brain tissue “almost like tiny tentacles…beyond what we can see in an MRI or surgery,” said Dr. Gabriel Zada, a neurosurgeon who is a brain-tumor specialist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.
Mr. McCain’s tumor was discovered following surgery for a blood clot that doctors found above his left eye, according to a statement from his office on Wednesday.
It is customary for clinicians to test removed tissue after such kinds of surgery. The testing, in this case, “revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot,” the statement said.
Mr. McCain and his family are currently “reviewing further treatment options” beyond surgery, according to his office.
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Originally Posted by DJ_Chaps
