methylprednisolone + prednisone (Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital)

This specific corticosteroid regimen was utilized as the active comparator arm in a randomized controlled trial (NCT01621880) conducted by Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. The treatment protocol was designed to manage radiation-induced brain necrosis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The regimen consists of an initial high-dose intravenous pulse of methylprednisolone (500 mg/day for 3 consecutive days), followed by a transition to oral prednisone (starting at 60 mg/day and gradually tapering over two months to a maintenance dose of 10 mg/day). Corticosteroids are small molecule glucocorticoid receptor agonists that function by suppressing the inflammatory response and reducing perilesional edema associated with necrotic brain tissue. In clinical evaluation, this regimen demonstrated a lower response rate (31.5%) compared to bevacizumab (65.5%), although corticosteroids remain a historical standard of care for this indication.

Other names

corticosteroid therapysteroid therapyintravenous pulsed-steroid therapy