Abstract
Objectives: The optimal treatment for elderly patients (age > 70 years) with glioblastoma remains controversial. We conducted a prospective trial in 32 consecutive elderly patients with glioblastoma who underwent surgery followed by radiotherapy (RT) plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide. Patients and Methods: 32 patients 70 years of age or older with a newly diagnosed glioblastoma and a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥ 70 were treated with RT (daily fractions of 2 Gy for a total of 60 Gy) plus temozolomide at the dose of 75 mg/m2 per day followed by six cycles of adjuvant temozolomide (150-200 mg/m2for 5 days during each 28-day cycle). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included progression free survival (PFS) and toxicity. Results: The median OS was 10.6 months and the median PFS was 7 months. The 6-month and 12-month survival rates were 91% and 37%, respectively. The 6-month and 12-month PFS rates were 56% and 16%, respectively. In multivariate analysis KPS was the only significant independent predictive factor of survival (P = 0.01). Adverse effects were mainly represented by neurotoxicity (40%), which resolved in most cases with the use of steroids, and Grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity in 28% of patients. Chemotherapy was stopped in 2 patients, delayed in 9 patients and reduced in 4 patients. Conclusions: Standard RT plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide is a feasible treatment for elderly patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma who present with good prognostic factors.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 97-103 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Neuro-Oncology |
Volume | 88 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2008 |
Keywords
- Elderly
- Glioblastoma
- Radiotherapy
- Temozolomide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Cancer Research
- Oncology
- Neuroscience(all)