[Accelerated hyperfractionation in the treatment of malignant glioma]

A retrospective evaluation was performed to determine whether accelerated hyperfractionation (AHF) improves the survival rate of patients with malignant gliomas. One hundred and seven patients with malignant gliomas, including glioblastoma multiforme, who had received radical radiotherapy were evaluated. Of the patients, 36 were treated by conventional fractionation (CF), and 71 by AHF. The treatment results of the two regimens were compared with regard to survival rate after therapy. Treatment by AHF was conducted at 10-15 F/W (1.5 Gy/F); the mean total dose was 61 Gy over an average of 27 days. Treatment by CF was conducted at 5 F/week (1.8-2 Gy/F); the mean total dose was 59 Gy over 51 days. Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazard model revealed that AHF significantly increased survival rate. Besides pointing to the selection of the AHF method as a treatment regimen, multivariate analysis showed the following factors to be indicators of favorable prognosis: a histopathological diagnosis other than glioblastoma multiforme, age below 40 years, and supratentorial location of the tumor.