oligodendroglioma-Treatment-

  My wife (Debbie) was diagnosed with a low grade oligodendroglioma
  in Sept. of 1991.  She had sugery on the 5th of that month followed
  by 6 weeks of radiation.  An MRI with Gad. on Sept. 14th of this  year showed the tumor in the beginning stages of recurrence.  A follow up
  MRI on the 14th of Oct. showed no change in size or other areas
  effected.  The tumor was located in the left frontal lobe near the top.
  In the first surgery it was not difficult to get to.  A second sugery is
  scheduled for the first week in January of 1999.  Our Neuro-Surgeon
  Dr. J A Bermudez indicated that Chemo was not effective on this type
  of tumor, I have seen other articles on the web that may indicate differently.
  Has immunotherapy been proven to be effective?
  Thank you
===========================================================================
Traditionally oligodendrogloimas have been thought not to be sensitive to chemotherapy however there is growing evidence that some subtypes at least may be partly responsive.
I have attached some references which explore the question.
To rewiew these options in detail you may wish to consult with a neuro-oncologist, a neurologist who specialises in the non-surgical treatment of brain tumors , usually in conjunction with a neurosurgeon.
trials ore ongoing in immunotherapy but definite conclusions are not yet available.
Friedman HS.  Lovell S.  Rasheed K.  Friedman AH.
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. Fried003:mc.duke.edu
Treatment of adults with progressive oligodendroglioma with carboplatin (CBDCA): preliminary results.
Medical & Pediatric Oncology.  31(1):16-8, 1998 Jul.
CONCLUSIONS: Carboplatin appears to be active in the treatment of adults with progressive oligodendroglioma
====================================
Allison RR.  Schulsinger A.  Vongtama V.  Barry T.  Shin KH.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA.
Radiation and chemotherapy improve outcome in oligodendroglioma [see comments].
International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.  37(2):399-403, 1997 Jan 15.
====================================
Peterson K.  Paleologos N.  Forsyth P.  Macdonald DR.  Cairncross JG.
Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
Salvage chemotherapy for oligodendroglioma.
Journal of Neurosurgery.  85(4):597-601, 1996 Oct.