Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor in adults, with a dismal prognosis despite standard treatment. The standard treatment for GBM, which includes surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy with temozolomide (known as the Stupp regimen), has remained largely unchanged for over two decades. Patients with GBM who have tumor invasion of the brain ventricles or meningeal metastasis face an even worse prognosis, with significantly shorter progression-free survival and overall survival compared to patients without these complications. The blood-brain barrier poses a significant challenge to effective chemotherapy delivery, limiting the efficacy of systemic treatments for central nervous system tumors. Intrathecal chemotherapy administration represents a promising strategy to overcome this barrier by directly delivering chemotherapeutic agents into the cerebrospinal fluid, potentially improving tumor control and survival outcomes in patients at high risk for intraventricular dissemination.
