Clinical and scientific advances made in the field of neuro-oncology

Many important clinical and basic scientific advances have been made in the past five years in the field of neuro-oncology, according to an editorial and several articles in the March issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"Clearly, investigators in this field are innovative, and progress is being made on several fronts in understanding the molecular and cellular changes causal of nervous system neoplasm and developing new therapies," writes Roger N. Rosenberg, M.D., of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and editor of the journal, in the editorial.

The theme issue focusing on cancers of the nervous system is being published in conjunction with a JAMA theme issue on cancer. The March issues of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Archives of Ophthalmology, Archives of Dermatology, Archives of Surgery, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery and Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery will also publish articles on this theme.

Articles in Archives of Neurology highlight the following topics, among others:
•Increased melanoma risk among Parkinson's disease patients
•Differences between brain tumors that cause seizures and those that do not
•Identifying cancer-related neurologic complications
•New insights into the risk of glioma, a brain or nervous system tumor
•New therapies for glioblastoma, a common and aggressive type of brain tumor
•Lymphoma in the central nervous system

"We are grateful to our colleagues for providing a rich and varied clinical and research experience with these articles to give a perspective and in-depth appreciation of the dynamic and vital development that the field of neuro-oncology has undergone in recent years," Dr. Rosenberg concludes. "The future looks positive and hopeful that continued progress will be made, especially in developing effective new therapies."
(Arch Neurol. 2010;67[3]:272. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)