title: Long-term survival in patients with malignant astrocytoma.
abstract: From 1978 to 1988, 314 patients with malignant astrocytoma were treated by our neuro-oncology team. Twenty-five patients were excluded from further analysis because of a lack of adequate follow-up, the brain-stem location of the tumor, or an age of less than 18 years. Of the 289 remaining patients in the valid study group, 213 had Grade IV tumors (73.7%) and 76 had Grade III tumors; 167 patients were male (57.8%) and 112 were female, and 89 were less than 40 years of age (30.8%). There were 58 long-term survivors (> 36 mo) in the series (20%). Long-term survivors were much more likely to be less than 40 years of age (x = 41.8; P < 0.005), to have undergone repeated surgery (x = 17.3; P < 0.005), to have received more than 60 Gy of radiation (x = 11.6; P < 0.005), to have Grade III tumors (x = 10.6; P < 0.005), and to have received nitrosoureas (x = 6.09; P < 0.02). Neither sex nor blood type were significantly associated with long-term survival. Patients undergoing repeated surgery were more likely to be less than 40 years of age (x = 5.72; P < 0.02), but neither sex nor histological findings was associated with repeated surgery. For the series as a whole, the observed 5-year survival rate was 6%. We conclude that an aggressive multidisciplinary approach can produce sizable numbers of long-term survivors in malignant astrocytoma patients with favorable prognostic factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salcman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Scholtz
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kulik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016371:Cranial Irradiation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D012086:Reoperation; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome