Classification of High-Grade Glioma
Histologic Classifications
Richard Prayson
Molecular Classifications
Greg Fuller
Clinical Characteristics
Pediatric High-Grade Glioma
Bruce Cohen
Adult High-Grade Glioma
Susan Chang and Nicholas Butowski
Diagnostic Tools for High-Grade Glioma
Computerized Tomography
Thomas Masaryk and Manzoor Ahmed
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Paul Ruggieri
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Mitchell Berger, G. Evren Keles, and Soonmee Sha
Biological Imaging
Tim Roberts and Andrea Kassner
Nuclear Imaging
Alexander M Spence, David Mankoff, Mark Muzc, and Kristin Swanson
Magneto-Encephalography
Michael Steinmetz, Jurgen Luders, and Edward Benzel
Management
General Considerations
Glen Stevens
Surgical Techniques
Gene Barnett
Radiation Therapy
Minesh Mehta and Hiral Shah
Brachytherapy
Michael McDermott, Marcus Ware, and P.K. Sneed
Radiosurgery
John Suh and Gene Barnett
Chemotherapies
David Peereboom and Manmeet Singh Ahluwalia
Nursing Considerations
Kathy Lupica and Gail Ditz
Contemporary Investigational Treatments
Convection Enhanced Delivery
Andrew Kanner
Immunotoxins
Syed Husain and Raj Puri
Small Molecule Agents
Michael Vogelbaum and Tina Thomas
Immunotherapy
Roberta Glick, Terry Lichter, Henry Lin, and Edward Cohen
Monoclonal Antibodies
Abraham Boskovitz David Reardon, Carol Wikstrand, Michael Zalutsky, and Darell Bigner
Oncolytic Viral Therapies
Antonio Chiocca and M.L. Lamfers
Biologic Modifiers
Aleck Hercbergs, Alex Mason, and Steve Toms
Gene Therapy
Alessandro Olivi and Maciej Lesniak
Boron Neutron Capture Therapy of Brain Tumors: Current Status and Future Prospects
Rolf Barth, Jeffrey Coderre, Graca Vicente, Thomas Blue, and Shin-Ichi Miyatake
Photodynamic Therapy
Andrew Kaye and Bhadrakant Kavar

This is truly an exciting time in the field of neuro-oncology, particularly in the area of hi- grade gliomas. The management of patients with high-grade gliomas has historically been one of the most challenging and disheartening fields in medicine, where failure is the rule and longevity is the exception. The jaded often state that despite purported advances in surgical and radiotherapeutic techniques and a myriad of clinical trials of medical therapies, the s- vival statistics for glioblastoma have not changed in the last three decades. The nihilism associated with these tumors is such that some practitioners still advise against treatment or even biopsy, recommending palliative care with the diagnosis based only on history and an MRI scan. If the current state-of-the-art in the diagnosis and management of high-grade gliomas was truly so bleak, there would be no reason to compile and publish a monograph on the subject. The fact is that we have recently entered an era where real progress is being made in our understanding and treatment of high-grade gliomas that is directly benefiting some patients. We are slowly but surely chipping away at this problem. One approach has exploited correlations between particular molecular markers and therapeutic response. The first such "breakthrough" in high-grade glioma was the observation that loss of chromosomes 1p and 19q uniformly predict chemosensitivity in anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (1).