Radiotherapy plus concomitant adjuvant temozolomide for glioblastoma: Japanese mono-institutional results

This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility and survival benefits of combined treatment with radiotherapy and temozolomide (TMZ), which has been covered by the national health insurance in Japanese patients with glioblastoma since September 2006. Between September 2006 and December 2011, 47 patients with newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed glioblastoma received radiotherapy for 60 Gy in 30 fractions. Among them, 45 patients (TMZ group) received concomitant TMZ (75 mg/m(2)/day, every day) and adjuvant TMZ (200 mg/m(2)/day, 5 days during each 28-days). All 36 of the glioblastoma patients receiving radiotherapy between January 1988 and August 2006 were analyzed as historical controls (control group). All patients were followed for at least 1 year or until they died. The median survival was 15.8 months in the TMZ group and 12.0 months in the control group after a median follow-up of 14.0 months. The hazard ratio for death in the TMZ group relative to the control group was 0.52 (P<0.01); the 2-year survival rate was 27.7% in the TMZ group and 14.6% in the control group. Hematologic toxicity of grade 3 and higher was observed in 20.4% in the TMZ group. Multivariate analysis showed that extent of surgery had the strongest impact on survival (P<0.01), while the use of TMZ had the second largest impact on survival (P = 0.035). The results indicate that combined treatment with radiotherapy and TMZ has a significant survival benefit for Japanese patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with slightly higher toxicities than previously reported.