Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy Found to Be Beneficial for Recurrent Low-Grade Glioma

Hypofractionated stereotactic (H-SRT) radiotherapy has been shown to be well tolerated and improved symptoms in patients with recurrent low-grade glioma, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson (Philadelphia, PA, USA) presented their study's findings at the 100th annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference, held in April 2009 in Denver, CO, USA. In a subgroup of patients who also received chemotherapy with their hypofractionated sterotactic radiotherapy (H-SRT), the median survival time was more than three times longer than patients who only received H-SRT alone, according to Shannon Fogh, M.D., resident in radiation oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

The study included 22 patients with evidence of glioma recurrence. All patients were given H-SRT as salvage therapy, and nine of the patients also received chemotherapy. The most common regimen was temozolomide (Temodar). The median survival time from the time of H-SRT was nine months. Eleven of the patients had a response to treatment at six-week follow-up. In the subset of patients who received chemotherapy, the median survival time from time of H-SRT was 17 months versus four months for patients who only received H-SRT.

The role of chemotherapy needs to be evaluated further, Dr. Fogh reported, since the small number of patients in this study prevented a multivariate analysis that would account for age, performance status, and tumor size. "There really is no standard of care for recurrent gliomas," he said. "H-SRT would be an attractive option because it allows a patient to have a shorter course of treatment. In our study, H-SRT was well-tolerated, and all patients were able to complete the full course of treatment."

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Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson