Hyperbaric oxygen and radiation therapy in the management of glioblastoma

A pilot clinical trial on radiotherapy of glioblastoma with and without hyperbaric oxygen was performed at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Eighty previously untreated patients with histologically proved glioblastoma were evaluated; 38 were irradiated under hyperbaric oxygen and 42 (controls) in atmospheric air. The survival rates were calculated according to the actuarial analysis method. At the end of 18 months, the survival rate appeared considerably higher in the oxygen group (28%) than in the controls (10%). At the end of 36 months, no patients in the control group survived, whereas 2 patients in the oxygen group were alive beyond 45 and 48 months, respectively. The median survival time was 38 weeks for those treated under oxygen and 31 weeks for the air control group. Owing to the small population samples and the pilot nature of this study, the difference in survival rates between the two groups was not statistically significant. The toxicity of hyperbaric oxygen was well tolerated by most patients, and the quality of survival in the hyperbaric oxygen group was equal to or slightly better than that of the control group. This pilot clinical study paved the way for further controlled clinical trials of hyperbaric oxygen and oxygen-mimicking drugs, including the electron-affinic compounds that could have differentially sensitized the hypoxic tumor cells.