High-grade gliomas: results in patients treated with adjuvant radiotherapy alone and with adjuvant radio-chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in the surgical, radiotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic fields, the outcome for patients with high-grade gliomas remains poor. Our experience of patients treated with and without chemotherapy is reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April 1999 to July 2003, 30 patients with high-grade gliomas were treated: 13 received adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) alone whereas 17 received temozolomide 75 mg/m2/d during the irradiation time and 200 mg/m2 daily per 5 consecutive days, every 28 days for three to six cycles, starting 4 weeks after the end of radiotherapy. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 12.5 months. The median overall survival (OS) was 15 months. In patients treated with RT plus chemotherapy, no statistical difference was observed between those who had undergone partial surgical resection and those with total resection (p=0.5128). In patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) treated with combined radiochemotherapy, the median OS was 18 months, while it was 7 months (p=0.0204) in those treated without chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis (Cox model) evidenced statistical differences for performance status (p =0.002) and for the type of adjuvant therapy (p=0.006). CONCLUSION: Radio-chemotherapy plus adjuvant temozolomide seemed to offer the best results in patients not submitted to debulking surgery. The performance status remained the most important prognostic factor. Tolerance to the combined regimen was very good.