TY - JOUR
T1 - Outcomes for patients with anaplastic astrocytoma treated with chemoradiation, radiation therapy alone or radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy
T2 - A retrospective review within the era of temozolomide
AU - Shonka, Nicole A.
AU - Theeler, Brett
AU - Cahill, Daniel
AU - Yung, Alfred
AU - Smith, Lynette
AU - Lei, Xiudong
AU - Gilbert, Mark R.
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Treatment for anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) is controversial. To assess three primary treatment approaches, patients from a single institution were retrospectively evaluated. To represent modern treatment selection, patients diagnosed with AA from December 2003 to December 2009 were selected. Those with insufficient data, incomplete pathology, and transformation or reclassification to glioblastoma in fewer than 6 months were excluded. A total of 163 patients were included in the final analyses. Median follow-up time was 4.2 years (range 0.5-7.8 years). Median age and Karnofsky performance status at diagnosis were 39.2 years and 90, respectively. 23.6 % of patients underwent biopsy, and 72.2 % underwent resection. Approximately 31 % received concurrent chemoradiation (CRT), 26.1 % had radiation therapy alone (RT), 38.2 % had radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy (RT-C), and 3 % were treated only with chemotherapy. Temozolomide was used almost exclusively during CRT (94.2 %) and adjuvantly. A median of 9.5 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy was given. The combination of radiation and chemotherapy, either concurrent or sequential trended toward a higher rate of radiation necrosis. Median progression free survival (PFS) favored RT (not reached) over CRT (1.5 years) and RT-C (3.6 years) adjusted for pairwise comparison (p = 0.033, p = 0.050). Median overall survival (OS) was 5.7 years, and did not differ significantly by treatment group. OS for patients with AA did not vary by initial treatment selection. Although the longer PFS in those receiving RT versus CRT may be confounded by pseudoprogression, the equivalent OS among groups supports RT.
AB - Treatment for anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) is controversial. To assess three primary treatment approaches, patients from a single institution were retrospectively evaluated. To represent modern treatment selection, patients diagnosed with AA from December 2003 to December 2009 were selected. Those with insufficient data, incomplete pathology, and transformation or reclassification to glioblastoma in fewer than 6 months were excluded. A total of 163 patients were included in the final analyses. Median follow-up time was 4.2 years (range 0.5-7.8 years). Median age and Karnofsky performance status at diagnosis were 39.2 years and 90, respectively. 23.6 % of patients underwent biopsy, and 72.2 % underwent resection. Approximately 31 % received concurrent chemoradiation (CRT), 26.1 % had radiation therapy alone (RT), 38.2 % had radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy (RT-C), and 3 % were treated only with chemotherapy. Temozolomide was used almost exclusively during CRT (94.2 %) and adjuvantly. A median of 9.5 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy was given. The combination of radiation and chemotherapy, either concurrent or sequential trended toward a higher rate of radiation necrosis. Median progression free survival (PFS) favored RT (not reached) over CRT (1.5 years) and RT-C (3.6 years) adjusted for pairwise comparison (p = 0.033, p = 0.050). Median overall survival (OS) was 5.7 years, and did not differ significantly by treatment group. OS for patients with AA did not vary by initial treatment selection. Although the longer PFS in those receiving RT versus CRT may be confounded by pseudoprogression, the equivalent OS among groups supports RT.
KW - Anaplastic astrocytoma
KW - Chemotherapy
KW - Radiation therapy
KW - Treatment
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U2 - 10.1007/s11060-013-1116-4
DO - 10.1007/s11060-013-1116-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 23526410
AN - SCOPUS:84879092884
SN - 0167-594X
VL - 113
SP - 305
EP - 311
JO - Journal of Neuro-Oncology
JF - Journal of Neuro-Oncology
IS - 2
ER -