Tumor-associated edema in brain cancer patients: pathogenesis and management

The long-term treatment of peritumoral edema remains a major challenge in clinical neuro-oncology. Steroids have been and will remain the backbone of any anti-edematous therapy because of their striking activity, convenient oral administration and also because of their cost-effectiveness. Their side effects, however, can compromise quality of life, particularly upon continuous administration. Therapeutic alternatives which may replace or - at least - help to reduce the steroid dose are limited. However, with the development of new agents such as corticorelin acetate, there is a hope that steroid-induced side effects can be delayed and reduced. The administration of anti-angiogenic agents with steroid-sparing effects, for example, bevacizumab, is limited due to their costs. Increased knowledge on boswellic acids and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors which are available for clinical application may help to exploit their anti-edema activity more efficiently in the future.