title: Glioblastoma in Tunisia: A retrospective study about 41 cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glioblastoma (GB) is the most common and lethal primary brain tumor in adults representing 25% of primary brain tumors in adults. The objective of our study was to report the epidemiologic, clinical and therapeutic features of GB in Tunisia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our retrospective study included 41 patients with histologically confirmed GB treated between 2006 and 2012 at the medical oncology departments of Abderrahmane Mami hospital in Ariana and the military hospital in Tunis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median age was 54 years (13 to 72 years) and sex-ratio was 2.3. Karnofsky performance status (KPS) was <70% in 31.7% of cases, while Recursive partitioning analysis radiation therapy oncology group (RTOG-RPA) classification was III in 11 (26.8%), IV in 19 (46.3%), V in 10 (24.3%) and VI in 1 (2.4%) cases. Complete resection (CR) was achieved in 29 patients (70.7%), partial resection (PR) or tumor debulking in 5 patients (12.2%) and biopsy alone (BA) in 7 patients (17.1%). All patients received brain radiotherapy (RT) at a dose of 60 Gy combined with concurrent temozolomide (TMZ). Nineteen patients (46.3%) received adjuvant TMZ, 8 of them completed 6 cycles. Median overall survival (OS) was 12 months (2 to 56 months). Six, 12, 18 and 24-months OS rates were 84.6%, 57.6%, 35.4% and 20.7%, OS being correlated to age, KPS, RPA and quality of resection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our retrospective study is the first African GB series. Despite it included predominantly poor prognosis patients with impaired neurocognitive function and adjuvant treatment discontinuation, our median OS was comparable to Stupp.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ben Nasr
authors.forename: Abderrazek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haddaoui
authors.forename: Slim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bach Hamba
authors.forename: Aymen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lagha
authors.forename: Soumaya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Labidi
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afrit
authors.forename: Farouk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benna
authors.forename: Hafedh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jmal
authors.forename: Hamouda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boussen