What

are the medical implications of Senator Kennedy's diagnosis?




Bazell mentions glioblastoma as a possible diagnosis. Wikipedia has some info on it.

More from the New York Times:

Dr. John Golfinos, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the New York University Cancer Institute, said malignant glioma could be difficult to beat.

“Typically, the outlook is not that great for this disease,” said Dr. Golfinos.

Dr. Golfinos said he could not speak about Senator Kennedy’s case specifically, but in general, a patient’s prognosis depends on a number of factors, including age and a general description known as performance status. He said there is no common screening test to discover the presence of such a tumor, and that for most people who develop one, no cause is ever identified.

Although a large number of promising treatments have been developed in recent years, Dr. Golfinos said the long-term survival rates have not improved greatly so far.

“It is still a difficult one, so the prognosis has not improved that much,” he said.