Treatment Information

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Brain – Glioblastoma Multiforme treatment details. Radiation, Immunotherapy.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States.

Survival: monthsCountry:United States
Toxiciy Grade:4City/State/Province:Houston, Texas
Treatments:Radiation, ImmunotherapyHospital:M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Drugs:Journal:Link
Date:Nov 2006

Description:

Patients: This phase II study involved two groups of patients with glioblastoma. The group treated with the immunotherapy (interferon beta) consisted of 55 patients who had undergone surgery and radiation treatment. The other group was not given this treatment, and involved 1,658 patients that were in a different, earlier study, the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol.

Treatment: The group of 55 patients received rhIFNb (recombinant human interferon beta) 4-6 weeks after they completed radiation therapy.

Toxicity: One treated patient had a Grade 4 toxic event, the loss of vision in the right eye. Grade 3 toxicities occured in 8 patients, including neurological toxicity, fatigue, vision loss, and liver toxicity. Grade 1 and 2 toxicities in the treated patients included nausea/vomiting, skin, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and arthralgias.

Results: The median survival time of all the rhIFNb patients was 13.4 months, and the median survival time of the control group was 11.3 months. Of these 55 treated patients, 34 had Class 3 and 4 disease and had a median survival time of 16.9 months.

Correspondence: Howard Colman, M.D., Ph.D.





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