Treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme with carmustine, cisplatin and etoposide followed by radiotherapy. A phase II study

U Lassen, P E Kristjansen, A Wagner, M Kosteljanetz, H S Poulsen

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A meta-analysis and several studies of patients with grade III and IV gliomas have indicated that the addition of nitrosurea based chemotherapy to surgery and radiation may improve survival. We performed a phase II study of pre-irradiative chemotherapy with BCNU, cisplatin and etoposide. This implies a short total treatment duration and a reliable response evaluation. The treatment schedule was three cycles of BCNU 200 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1, cisplatin 20 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1-5 and etoposide (VP-16) 100 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1-5, given every five weeks and followed by localized radiation, 60 Gy in 30 fractions. Twenty-nine patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), mean age 50 (27-66) and performance status (PS) 0-2 were included. Using the Macdonald criteria 33% had partial remission (PR), 41% stable disease (SD) and 26% progressive disease (PD) after chemotherapy. After additional radiation 44% had PR, 37% SD and 19% PD. Non-hematological toxicity and leukopenia was mild, but thrombocytopenia (TP) frequent. Grade III and IV TP occurred in 25% and 57% respectively, and grade III bleeding in 45%. No severe or fatal complications was seen. Median time to progression (TTP) was 7.6 months (6.0-9.1) and median survival was 11.4 months (10.1-12.7). We conclude that this regimen is effective and feasible in patients with GBM. The short course pre-irradiatory chemotherapy may be less cumbersome than adjuvant chemotherapy and the regimen may be even more active in grade III gliomas.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Neuro-Oncology
Volume43
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)161-6
Number of pages6
ISSN0167-594X
Publication statusPublished - Jun 1999

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols
  • Brain Neoplasms
  • Carmustine
  • Cisplatin
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Disease Progression
  • Etoposide
  • Female
  • Glioblastoma
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Radiotherapy
  • Survival Analysis
  • Clinical Trial
  • Clinical Trial, Phase II
  • Journal Article

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