title: Outcomes for patients with anaplastic astrocytoma treated with chemoradiation, radiation therapy alone or radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy: a retrospective review within the era of temozolomide.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 987680 Nebraska Medical Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-7680, USA. nshonka@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Shonka
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Theeler
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yung
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Xiudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gilbert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003606:Dacarbazine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D000077204:Temozolomide; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; D003606:Dacarbazine; D000077204:Temozolomide