How do you taper steroids for patients with symptomatic edema following standard chemoradiation for GBM?
I agree with above and would add that decreased production of corticosteroids by the adrenals does not typically occur until after a patient has been on steroids for at least 3 weeks. If you have a patient on steroids for less than this time period I suggest a rapid taper that is based on symptom co...
We tend to use dexamethasone, although one of our neuro-oncologists likes prednisone better than dexamethasone as it may be easier to wean.
We used to keep patients on even a low dose of dexamethasone throughout treatment, but given concerns that dexamethasone will result in immunosuppression that m...
If the problem is less an adrenal one, consider overlapping with celebrex- this can be enormously helpful in helping a taper due to persistant edema. Also consider bevicizumab if there is persistant mass effect from tumor (as opposed to pseudonecrosis). As always, consider side effects of these ther...