A combination results in certain brain tumors growing more slowly
Patients with a deadly type of brain cancer could benefit from treatment
in which chemotherapy is added to radiotherapy. The combination can
result in a slower recurrence rate of so-called anaplastic
oligodendroglioma tumors and longer survival in patients. These research
findings were presented by Erasmus MC researchers at ASCO, the premier
global cancer conference. The study is one of the five studies selected
from more than 5000 submitted abstracts to be presented at the plenary
ASCO meeting. The researchers also discovered a way of predicting in
which patients the combined treatment works best.
Almost all patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma tumors die as a
result of this condition as the tumors are fast growing. To date, the
treatment for this type of brain cancer consisted only of radiotherapy.
However, by adding chemotherapy to this standard treatment people lived
11 months longer on average without the disease worsening. This
progression-free survival was 24 months for patients receiving the
combination therapy. If the tumor recurred in patients who had undergone
radiotherapy and they were then as yet given chemotherapy their survival
also improved (from 31 to nearly 42 months). In the Netherlands, 50 to
100 patients are diagnosed with this type of tumor each year.
The researchers from Erasmus MC Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center have also
discovered a method that can help in predicting which patients would
benefit most from combination treatment. “We discovered that the
survival gain achieved by the chemotherapy was greatest in patients
where the tumor showed loss of parts of chromosomes 1 and 19. The risk
of dying decreased by 44 percent in this group compared to people who
had only received radiotherapy. This makes it possible to improve the
tailoring of treatment to individual patients”, says head researcher
Martin van den Bent, of the Neuro-Oncology Unit.
The 368 patients who participated in the study had all been diagnosed
with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma tumor for the first time. They were
either given the standard treatment with radiotherapy or this treatment
supplemented by 6 chemotherapy cycles using Procarbazine, CCNU
(lomustine) and Vincristine. The study is the result of 17 years of
research carried out by researchers of Erasmus MC as part of the
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). For
many years Erasmus MC has played a leading role within the Brain Tumor
Group of this academic research organization. This group previously
showed that for grade IV brain tumors (also known as glioblastomas) a
combination of radiotherapy and temozolomide is the optimal treatment.
This has become the global standard of treatment for this type of tumor.
Patients with a deadly type of brain cancer could benefit from treatment
in which chemotherapy is added to radiotherapy. The combination can
result in a slower recurrence rate of so-called anaplastic
oligodendroglioma tumors and longer survival in patients. These research
findings were presented by Erasmus MC researchers at ASCO, the premier
global cancer conference. The study is one of the five studies selected
from more than 5000 submitted abstracts to be presented at the plenary
ASCO meeting. The researchers also discovered a way of predicting in
which patients the combined treatment works best.
Almost all patients with anaplastic oligodendroglioma tumors die as a
result of this condition as the tumors are fast growing. To date, the
treatment for this type of brain cancer consisted only of radiotherapy.
However, by adding chemotherapy to this standard treatment people lived
11 months longer on average without the disease worsening. This
progression-free survival was 24 months for patients receiving the
combination therapy. If the tumor recurred in patients who had undergone
radiotherapy and they were then as yet given chemotherapy their survival
also improved (from 31 to nearly 42 months). In the Netherlands, 50 to
100 patients are diagnosed with this type of tumor each year.
The researchers from Erasmus MC Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center have also
discovered a method that can help in predicting which patients would
benefit most from combination treatment. “We discovered that the
survival gain achieved by the chemotherapy was greatest in patients
where the tumor showed loss of parts of chromosomes 1 and 19. The risk
of dying decreased by 44 percent in this group compared to people who
had only received radiotherapy. This makes it possible to improve the
tailoring of treatment to individual patients”, says head researcher
Martin van den Bent, of the Neuro-Oncology Unit.
The 368 patients who participated in the study had all been diagnosed
with an anaplastic oligodendroglioma tumor for the first time. They were
either given the standard treatment with radiotherapy or this treatment
supplemented by 6 chemotherapy cycles using Procarbazine, CCNU
(lomustine) and Vincristine. The study is the result of 17 years of
research carried out by researchers of Erasmus MC as part of the
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). For
many years Erasmus MC has played a leading role within the Brain Tumor
Group of this academic research organization. This group previously
showed that for grade IV brain tumors (also known as glioblastomas) a
combination of radiotherapy and temozolomide is the optimal treatment.
This has become the global standard of treatment for this type of tumor.
