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.

Gefitinib in patients with progressive high-grade gliomas: a multicentre phase II study by Gruppo Italiano Cooperativo di Neuro-Oncologia (GICNO).

Franceschi E, Cavallo G, Lonardi S, Magrini E, Tosoni A, Grosso D, Scopece L, Blatt V, Urbini B, Pession A, Tallini G, Crinò L, Brandes AA

1Department of Medical Oncology, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy.

To investigate the role of gefitinib in patients with high-grade gliomas (HGGs), a phase II trial (1839IL/0116) was conducted in patients with disease recurrence following surgery plus radiotherapy and first-line chemotherapy. Adult patients with histologically confirmed recurrent HGGs following surgery, radiotherapy and first-line chemotherapy, were considered eligible. Patients were treated with gefitinib (250 mg day(-1)) continuously until disease progression. The primary end point was progression-free survival at 6 months progression-free survival at 6 months (PFS-6). Tissue biomarkers (epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene status and expression, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) expression) were assessed. Twenty-eight patients (median age, 55 years; median ECOG performance status, 1) were enrolled; all were evaluable for drug activity and safety. Sixteen patients had glioblastoma, three patients had anaplastic oligodendrogliomas and nine patients had anaplastic astrocytoma. Five patients (17.9%, 95% CI 6.1-36.9%) showed disease stabilisation. The overall median time to progression was 8.4 (range 2-104+) weeks and PFS-6 was 14.3% (95% CI 4.0-32.7%). The median overall survival was 24.6 weeks (range 4-104+). No grade 3-4 gefitinib-related toxicity was found. Gefitinib showed limited activity in patients affected by HGGs. Epidermal growth factor receptor expression or gene status, and p-Akt expression do not seem to predict activity of this drug.

Published 4 April 2007 in Br J Cancer, 96(7): 1047-51.
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