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PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Ivanhoe Newswire) - More than 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor each year. These tumors tend to resist current treatments and don’t react well to chemo and radiation. They also have a high rate of recurrence. Now, small seeds are giving patients new hope.

It’s the size of a postage stamp and is helping to destroy indestructible brain tumors, like the ones Anthony Parise battled for years.

“It moved from my lung to my brain,” said Parise.

First diagnosed with lung cancer, an MRI revealed it spread.

“The most common type of brain tumor that is cancerous actually doesn’t arise from the brain tissue itself. It actually arises from other sites of the body, such as a lung cancer or co colon cancer or melanoma,” said Dr. Matthew Shepard, a neurosurgeon at Allegheny Health Network.

Parise underwent two brain surgeries to remove the tumor and two rounds of radiation.

“Now, we’re in a situation where we have a patient who has lung cancer, but the only spot where they have the lung cancer in their whole body is in his brain,” explained Dr. Shepard.

Dr. Shepard believes the Gamma Tile is Parise’s last option.

“We implant little tiles that are implanted with some radiation seeds that emit a low dose radiation over several weeks to months,” added Dr. Shepard.

The tiles slowly dissolve—there’s no surgery needed to remove them and unlike traditional radiation where patients are required to come into the hospital as many as 30 times to receive treatment, whereas with the Gamma Tile, you put it in and forget it. For the first time in years, Parise is now tumor-free.

“So, I am happy, you know, when I wake up in the morning, that’s another good day for me,” said Parise.

Already used in bladder and prostate cancers, the Gamma Tile is relatively new to treating tumors in the brain. There are very few side effects with the gamma tile and only one in 74 patients experienced hair loss. The Gamma Tile is currently being used for only patients whose tumor recurs and when post-operative radiation or chemotherapy options are limited.

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