Carmustine wafers (Gliadel)

What it is

Carmustine wafers (brand name Gliadel) are small, dissolvable implants containing chemotherapy that are placed directly into the cavity left after a glioma is removed during surgery. As they dissolve, they release the drug (carmustine) directly into the surrounding brain tissue, treating the area locally. They are used in select cases.

Understanding Carmustine wafers (Gliadel)

This approach delivers chemotherapy locally rather than throughout the body. During surgery to remove a glioma, the surgeon can line the resection cavity with these wafers; over the following weeks, the wafers dissolve and release carmustine into the immediately surrounding tissue, where residual tumor cells are most likely to remain. The aim is to deliver a high local concentration of drug to the area at highest risk of regrowth while minimizing exposure to the rest of the body. Carmustine wafers are used in selected situations (for certain high-grade gliomas at initial surgery or recurrence), based on the surgeon's and team's judgment, and are not appropriate for every case. Their use involves specific considerations and potential local effects that the team weighs. They represent one localized treatment option among the broader range. Understanding carmustine wafers in gliomas clarifies a local chemotherapy delivered via implants during surgery.

Why it matters

Understanding carmustine wafers helps patients and families see a localized chemotherapy option — implants placed during surgery to deliver drug directly to the tumor area — used in select cases as part of the range of treatments.