Treatment > Carmustine · Cisplatin

Abstract

Cisplatin and BCNU chemotherapy for anaplastic oligoastrocytomas

Boiardi A, Eoli M, Salmaggi A, Pollo B, Milanesi I, Broggi G, Silvani A

Istituto Nazionale Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy. boiardi@istituto-besta.it

In this study 32 newly diagnosed anaplastic oligoastrocytoma patients were enrolled (median age of 41 years, range 19-63; median Karnofsky performance status of 90, range 70-100).
All patients were treated with Cisplatin (109 mg/m2) and BCNU (160 mg/m2).
The chemotherapy started in the first week after surgery and it was administered every 6 weeks (5 scheduled cycles) for a total of 127 cycles.
After the second cycle of chemotherapy all patients received radiotherapy (56.5 Gy).
The median follow-up was 63.2 months (10-91).
Nine patients were reoperated-on.
The median time to tumor progression (TTP) and median survival time (ST) for the whole group of patients were 54.6 and 70.1 months, respectively.
A proportional hazard model was used to look at potential prognostic factors for survival including lower age (< 40 years), extent of surgery (total/subtotal versus partial) and reoperation.
When we analyzed the group of patients with total/subtotal surgery or age under 40 years the median ST could not be assessed due to the high number of surviving patients after a follow-up of 52 months.
The median ST for the older patients or for patients partially operated-on was 54.1 and 42.2 months.
In our study only total/subtotal surgery predicted for longer survival (p < 0.001).
This schedule of treatment provides durable response in a selected group of anaplastic oligoastrocytoma patients.

PMID: 11131989 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]