Treatment of grade III and IV astrocytomas with BCNU alone and in combination with VM-26 following surgery and radiation therapy.
Twenty-one patients with grade III or IV astrocytomas were assigned randomly to receive either BCNU alone or BCNU and VM-26 after surgery and radiation therapy. Patients surviving radiation therapy and receiving single-agent chemotherapy had a median survival of 14 months while those receiving combination chemotherapy had a median survival of 22 months (P greater than 0.05). None of the patients who failed BCNU-only therapy responded to VM-26. Performance status was not affected by either regimen. Computerized tomographic scanning of the brain was useful only in confirming tumor progression. Two patients died from BCNU-related interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D002330:Carmustine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011034:Podophyllotoxin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000139:chemically induced; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy; D013713:Teniposide / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D013713:Teniposide; D011034:Podophyllotoxin; D002330:Carmustine