Efficacy of bevacizumab combined with temozolomide dose-dense regimen on recurrent glioma

To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of bevacizumab combined with temozolomide dose-dense regimen in the treatment of recurrent glioma.

The clinical data of 102 patients with recurrent glioma after surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy treated in our hospital from March 2016 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 51 patients undergoing bevacizumab combined with temozolomide treatment (Bevacizumab group), and the remaining 51 patients received temozolomide treatment alone (Control group). The clinical data of all patients were collected, the short-term efficacy, adverse reactions after treatment and quality of life score were compared between the two groups, and the levels of serum immune factors were recorded. The patients were followed up, and the overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were recorded.

All patients underwent bevacizumab treatment for 2-12 cycles, with an average of 6.3 cycles. The objective response rate (ORR) was 47.1% (24/51) and 23.5% (12/51), and the clinical benefit rate (CBR) was 82.4% (42/51) and 60.8% (31/51), respectively, in the Bevacizumab group and Control group. Both ORR and CBR in the Bevacizumab group were superior to those in the Control group. After treatment, the scores of the SF-36 scale significantly rose in the two groups. After treatment, the levels of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-6 obviously declined in the two groups compared with those before treatment, while they were obviously lower in the Bevacizumab group than those in the Control group. The median OS was 9.2 months and 8.7 months, and the median PFS was 4.1 months and 3.3 months, respectively, in the Bevacizumab group and the Control group. Log-rank test revealed that the OS had no statistically significant difference between the two groups, but the PFS in the Bevacizumab group was remarkably better than that in the Control group.

Bevacizumab combined with temozolomide can significantly improve the clinical efficacy, increase the quality of life of patients, and delay the progression of recurrent glioma, with tolerable adverse reactions.