Survival after radiation therapy for high-grade glioma

Abstract

Background

High-grade gliomas (HGGs) are a heterogeneous disease group, with variable prognosis, inevitably causing deterioration of the quality of life. The estimated 2-year overall survival is 20%, despite the best trimodality treatment consisting of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.

Aim

To evaluate long-term survival outcomes and factors influencing the survival of patients with high-grade gliomas treated with radiotherapy.

Materials and methods

Data from 47 patients diagnosed with high-grade gliomas between 2009 and 2014 and treated with three-dimensional radiotherapy (3DRT) or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were analyzed retrospectively.

Results

Median survival was 16.6 months; 29 patients (62%) died before the time of analysis. IMRT was employed in 68% of cases. The mean duration of radiotherapy was 56 days, and the mean delay to the start of radiotherapy was 61.7 days (range, 27–123 days). There were no statistically significant effects of duration of radiotherapy or delay to the start of radiotherapy on patient outcomes.

Conclusions

Age, total amount of gross resection, histological type, and use of adjuvant temozolomide influenced survival rate (p<0.05). The estimated overall survival was 18 months (Kaplan–Meier estimator). Our results corroborated those reported in the literature.