Brain Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Brain Cancer, including details on symptoms, benign and malignant tumors, gliomas, treatment.

Local drug delivery in recurrent malignant gliomas.

Boiardi A, Eoli M, Salmaggi A, Lamperti E, Botturi A, Solari A, Di Meco F, Broggi G, Silvani A

Department of Neuro-oncology, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, I-20133 Milan, Italy. boiardi@istituto-besta.it

In recurrent malignant gliomas, we scheduled a protocol by adding to systemic temozolomide a local treatment delivered through a reservoire positioned in the surgically created cavity, consisting of either mitoxantrone, liposome-loaded doxorubicine or nimustine (ACNU). The progression-free survival (PFS) and survival time (ST) of the whole group of 112 patients were 8.3 and 11 months, respectively, in GBM patients, and 14 and 18 months in AA patients. To limit the selection bias in recruitment we matched locally treated patients with the whole group of patients treated for 3 years and having undergone the same protocol with the exception of local drug delivery. Variables such as age, histology and local chemotherapy delivery were proved to be statistically significant independent factors on adjunctive PFS and ST. Another group of 12 recurrent malignant gliomas with further progression was locally managed according to convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of mitoxantrone; the preliminary results show good tolerability of the schedule.

Published 10 May 2005 in Neurol Sci, 26: S37-9.
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