Columbia University researchers and neurosurgeons have created an implantable pump that safely and effectively delivers chemotherapy drugs directly to the brain of patients with brain cancer.

Since the pump bypasses the blood-brain barrier and can stay in place for a long period of time, higher doses of chemotherapy can be delivered directly to the brain without causing the side effects of oral or intravenous chemotherapy.

This new approach has the potential to transform treatment for patients with brain cancer, where the outlook for survival remains very poor, though more testing is needed in patients with earlier-stage tumors and with different types of chemotherapy.