Initial chemotherapy alone after surgery is just as successful as initial radiation therapy for patients from whom a very malignant brain tumor (anaplastic glioma) was removed. With this treatment, the patients survive on average > 30 months without a recurrence. A study conducted by the Neurooncology Working Group of the German Cancer Society led by researchers from Heidelberg and Zürich showed that patients in primary therapy benefit to the same extent from chemotherapy alone as from radiation alone.
In addition, the Working Group headed by Professor Dr. Wolfgang Wick, Medical Director of the Department of Neurooncology at Heidelberg University Hospital and Head of the Neurooncology Unit at the DKFZ, Professor Dr. Michael Weller, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Zurich, and Prof. Andreas von Deimling, Medical Director of the Department of Neuropathology at Heidelberg University Hospital and Head of the Neuropathology Unit at the DKFZ, identified a new factor that is indicative of a positive prognosis – regardless of the form of treatment. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In Germany, around 4,500 people a year develop a glioma, a malignant brain tumor. Some 5 percent of primary brain tumors are what are known as anaplastic gliomas. They respond to treatment somewhat better than most other malignant brain tumors. The mean survival time in the study was > 80 months. As the tumors can branch out widely into the surrounding tissue, they cannot be completely removed. The subsequent therapy in the form of combined radiochemotherapy (radiation and chemotherapy) is the current standard treatment, but it is associated with a risk of long-term toxicity to healthy brain tissue, causing the patient to lose cognitive abilities.
Primary chemotherapy as an equivalent treatment option
Two studies recently conducted by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) have shown that combined radiochemotherapy according to current standard practice does not yield better therapy results than radiotherapy alone. The NOA (Neurooncology Working Group) study has now also proven that chemotherapy alone after surgical removal of the tumor has an equivalent result. "This additional treatment option facilitates the further development of the treatment plan in new combinations with the long-term goal of improving the survival rate," says Professor Wolfgang Wick.
Gene mutation predicts improved outcome
Depending on their tissue composition, anaplastic gliomas are classified in different sub-groups which are assumed to have different prognoses. However, in this study, the previously distinct sub-groups of oligodendroglial tumors had an identical clinical course. With the aid of extensive molecular pathology studies of extirpated tumor tissue, the researchers identified a new prognosis factor called IDH1 mutation (gene mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase). It is indicative, irrespective of the type of tissue of the anaplastic glioma and irrespective of treatment, of a better prognosis. The researchers proved that the already known prognosis factor "MGMT promoter methylation" is not predictive for chemotherapy, but did have prognostic value for chemotherapy as well as for radiation alone. "The results are relevant not only for clinical routine, but for current study designs of the large study networks EORTC and RTOG as well," explained Professor Wick.
Reference:
NOA-04 Randomized Phase III Trial of Sequential Radiochemotherapy of Anaplastic Glioma With Procarbazine, Lomustine, and Vincristine or Temozolomide. Wolfgang Wick, Christian Hartmann, Corinna Engel, Mandy Stoffels, Jörg Felsberg, Florian Stockhammer, Michael C. Sabel, Susanne Koeppen, Ralf Ketter, Richard Meyermann, Marion Rapp, Christof Meisner, Rolf D. Kortmann, Torsten Pietsch, Otmar D. Wiestler, Ulrike Ernemann, Michael Bamberg, Guido Reifenberger, Andreas von Deimling, and Michael Weller. Journal of Clinical Oncology, in press.
More Information about the Department of Neurooncology on the Internet: www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php?id=105540&L=en
Contact person:
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Wick
Medical Director
Department of Neurooncology
Heidelberg University Hospital
Im Neuenheimer Feld 400
69120 Heidelberg
phone: +49 6221 / 56 70 75
fax: +49 6221 / 56 75 54
e-mail: wolfgang.wick@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Prof. Dr. Michael Weller
Department of Neurology
University Hospital Zurich
Frauenklinikstrasse 26
CH-8091 Zürich
phone: +41 44 255 55 00
fax: +41 44 255 45 07
e-mail michael.weller@usz.ch
Website: www.neurologie.usz.ch
Heidelberg University Hospital and Medical Faculty:
Internationally recognized patient care, research, and teaching
Heidelberg University Hospital is one of the largest and most prestigious medical centers in Germany. The Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University belongs to the internationally most renowned biomedical research institutions in Europe. Both institutions have the common goal of developing new therapies and implementing them rapidly for patients. With about 7,000 employees, training and qualification is an important issue. Every year, around 500,000 patients are treated on an inpatient or outpatient basis in more than 40 clinics and departments with 1,600 beds. Currently, about 3,100 future physicians are studying in Heidelberg; the reform Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale (HeiCuMed) is one of the top medical training programs in Germany.
Requests by journalists:
Dr. Annette Tuffs
Head of Public Relations and Press Department
University Hospital of Heidelberg and
Medical Faculty of Heidelberg
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D-69120 Heidelberg
Germany
phone: +49 6221 / 56 45 36
fax: +49 6221 / 56 45 44
e-mail: annette.tuffs@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Selected english press releases online: http://www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/presse
Journal
Journal of Clinical Oncology