Reported By Christine Webb
ORLANDO -- Doctors at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have launched a new clinical trial to fight the type of brain cancer that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
He had undergone surgery, radiation and chemotherapy since he was diagnosed with cancer in May 2008.
M. D. Anderson is only the second site in the world to launch this trial.
Elizabeth is one of the first patients in the world to have this treatment.
It's a novel approach. She's getting her head shaved so a device can be put on her scalp. That device will let electrodes emit directly on a patient's scalp fighting the tumor.
It puts a charge into the person's brain trying to break up abnormal bad cells.
"We are looking for those treatments that are less toxic," said Dr. Nicholas Avgeropoulos of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. "The patient wears a bag around with them that powers the electrodes all day long and they wear the device pretty much 24-7."
The patients still undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
There is no doubt it is a very serious condition with tricky surgeries, but Avgeropoulos said, "It seems to have fantastic results -- three to four times the results not even combining it with other chemotherapy."
The treatment has virtually no side effects. It is only being tested on adults.
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