Glycerol: a successful alternative to dexamethasone for patients receiving brain irradiation for metastatic disease.

Thirty-three patients with metastatic brain neoplasms of various types received glycerol instead of corticosteroids during periods of brain irradiation. In the 25 symptomatic patients, responses from this treatment were seen in those patients whose primary symptom was vomiting (ten of 12 patients), headache (nine of ten), papilledema (five of nine), paralysis (six of eight), confusion (six of seven), and dysphasia (four of six). Glycerol was well tolerated; it did not induce immunosuppression when administered in combination with radiotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy. Further investigation is indicated to compare its efficacy with that of dexamethasone.