EOLP-01. TREATMENT OF HEADACHES IN GLIOMA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CURRENT PRACTICES AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Abstract INTRODUCTION Headaches are one of the most common morbidities in glioma reported in 36 to 62% of patients along the course of their disease. Gliomas represent 27% of primary CNS neoplasms and accounted for an average annual age-adjusted incidence rate of 6.0 per 100 000 population according to data collected between 2010 and 2014. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this review was to evaluate current treatment options for glioma patients presenting with headaches and identify current headache treatment methods that could play a role in those patients. METHODS A systematic review of studies involving headaches in patients with gliomas was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The search was conducted on PubMed, Ovid Medline, and Embase databases through January 3rd, 2023, with the following search terms: (analgesic OR anti-inflammatory OR prophylaxis OR steroids) AND (headache) AND (glioma or glioblastoma) AND (treatment). For each patient, we extracted: the therapy used, its outcome, and any side effects. RESULTS There were 11 out of 195 articles included in the review. For the articles that were fully reviewed (n =93), the majority of the exclusions 49% (n=40) were due to lack treatment method for patients’ headache. The most reported treatment options were Analgesics (n=211), steroids (dexamethasone, n=116), Surgical resection (n=2), and CGRP inhibitor (Fremanezumab, n=1). Most of the included studies 55% (n=6) only discussed headache treatment in 1 patient with 67% (n=4) of them being case report highlighting the lack of evidence covering this topic. CONCLUSION Headache treatment in patients with gliomas is an area of neuro-oncology with much to be learned. There is a need to further study the etiology of headaches in order to provide effective treatment plans that could improve the quality of life in this patient population.