Brain tumour

A guide for patients and carers

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Other treatments for brain tumour

Anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs)

Anti-epilepsy drugs (AEDs) are used to control seizures (epilepsy). As well as being given to people who have experienced seizures, they are sometimes given to help prevent seizures in people who are about to have surgery.

There are many different types of AEDs. The AED you are prescribed will depend on your individual situation. If you have epilepsy (or are being treated for cancer) you are entitled to free prescriptions.

Pain-relief drugs

For people with brain tumours pain-relief drugs are used mainly to control headaches. They might be combined with other drugs to control nausea (feeling sick) and vomiting (being sick). There are many different types of pain-relief drugs and your doctors will try to use the most effective one for your individual situation.

Complementary treatments

There is still a great deal we do not know about brain tumours and you might find that complementary treatments such as aromatherapy or reflexology are helpful for you. Various dietary and vitamin supplements are also available. Most doctors would only recommend using these alongside established treatments rather than as a substitute for them. You should check with your doctor or pharmacist that it is safe for you to start taking dietary and vitamin supplements, especially if you are taking any medication.

Complementary treatments and therapies are unlikely to provide specific treatment for your tumour but they might help to improve your general well-being.

New treatments

Several treatments for different types of brain tumour have a limited success rate and there is a continuous search for new treatments.

It is very common to be concerned about the outcome of your treatment. Your medical team will always be ready to discuss your concerns with you, tell you about some of the newer, more experimental treatments and say whether they might be worth considering in your case.

Some of the new treatments currently being developed include proton therapy, gene therapy and anti-angiogenesis therapies.

Proton therapy uses beams of protons (charged particles) to damage or destroy the tumour. It is thought to be more accurate than radiotherapy so there is less risk of harming the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour.

Gene therapy involves inserting genes (DNA) into the tumour, either to replace defective genes and regulate the growth of the
tumour, or to add specific genes which can stop the tumour growing and might trigger the death of the tumour cells.

Anti-angiogenesis therapies aim to cut down the blood supply to the tumour to reduce the supply of oxygen to the tumour cells
and cause them to die.

Clinical trials

You might be asked if you would like to take part in a clinical trial as part of your treatment. Clinical trials involve testing new treatments on patients. Your medical team will discuss this with you and answer any questions you have about taking part in a clinical trial.

(You might be interested in reading our fact sheet on clinical trials for more information.)