Treatment with bevacizumab plus carboplatin for recurrent malignant glioma

To estimate overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), imaging responses, and toxicities of bevacizumab plus carboplatin for the treatment of recurrent malignant glioma. The secondary objective was to estimate the agreement between postcontrast T1-weighted and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

A retrospective analysis of 9 patients who received bevacizumab (10 mg/kg intravenously) and carboplatin (AUC 5 intravenously) for recurrent malignant glioma (World Health Organization grades III and IV) is presented. Eight of 9 patients received this regimen at first recurrence.

The median age and Karnofsky performance score were 51 years and 70, respectively. For the 5 patients with grade III gliomas, the median PFS was 126 days, whereas median OS was not attained at 517 days of follow-up. Six-month PFS was 40%, whereas 6-month OS was 60%. For the 4 patients with grade IV gliomas, the median PFS was 216 days, whereas the median OS was not attained at 482 days of follow-up. Six-month PFS was 50%, whereas 6-month OS was 75%. The agreement between contrast-enhanced T1-weighted and T2-weighted images to determine recurrence was moderate (kappa=0.5714). Three patients had grade 3 and 4 toxicities including hyponatremia and thrombocytopenia.

Patients who received the combination of bevacizumab plus carboplatin for recurrent malignant glioma had reasonable PFS, OS, and toxicities. The median OS in our series is promising at well over 1 year. Agreement between postcontrast T1- and T2-weighted images is only moderate in the context of bevacizumab therapy.