Analysis of long-term survival in patients with glioblastoma.

Abstract

e13007 Background: Adult glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common type of malignant primary brain tumor. Despite advances made in treatment, median survival is between 12 and 15 months. Standard care is concomitant radiotherapy (RT)/temozolomide (TMZ) and adjuvant TMZ for 6 cycles (EORTC/NCIC trial 2005). At progression, subsequent treatments are left to the discretion of the treating physician. Methods: We evaluated retrospective data of GBM patients (pts) treated from 2003 to 2010, focusing on the treatment of patients with longer survival (over 24 months). Results: 139 pts with GBM were treated during the period. Thirty of these showed survival > 24 months: 20 were subjected to macroscopically radical neurosurgery, 9 to non-radical surgery and 1 to biopsy. All pts had a KPS 100%. 11 pts were treated in the period pre-EORTC/NCIC trial (Stupp et all) and 19 in the period “post-Stupp”. In the former group 10 pts underwent RT followed by TMZ ( 2-12cycles) and 1 patient received only RT. All pts in the latter group were treated with concomitant radio-chemotherapy followed by TMZ. 3 pts are currently disease stable. After the first documented evidence of disease progression (PD) 21 pts were treated, one with neurosurgery, 4 with neurosurgery plus chemotherapy (CT), 15 with only CT and 1 with CT and tomotherapy. With regard to chemotherapy, 14 pts received TMZ ( 2-21cycles), 3 fotemustine (4-16 cycles), 1 carboplatin and VP16 (2 cycles) and 1 irinotecan plus bevacizumab (2 cycles). Further progression was treated with another line of CT in only 8 pts, fotemustine in 5 (1-3 cycles), TMZ in 2 (2 cycles) and carboplatin plus VP16 In 1 (5 cycles). Median overall survival (mOS) of our long-term survivors was 36.18 months (CI 95% 28.32 – 42.01). Considering the two groups separately (pre- and post- Stupp), we observed a mOS of 36.18 months (CI 95% 26.45 – 42.01) (1 pt alive) for the first group and of 36.15 months (CI 95% 28.26 – 48.52) (7 pts alive) for the second. Conclusions: Our long-term survivors, independently of treatment, showed an mOS of 36.18 months (CI 95% 28.32 – 42.01). There was no significant difference in mOS between the 2 groups (p=0.6963). Further research is needed to identify the biomolecular and genetic pattern that is responsible for the long survival of some patients.