Comparison of multi-cycle and standard-cycle temozolomide chemotherapies in patients with glioblastoma undergoing surgery and successive radiotherapy

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the clinical potential of multi-cycle temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy in patients with glioblastoma who underwent surgery and successive radiotherapy. Methods: The clinical data of 68 glioblastoma patients who underwent surgery from January 2015 to December 2019 were collected. A total of 33 patients were treated with multi-cycle (≥9 cycles) TMZ chemotherapy (study group), while 35 patients were treated with standard-cycle (6 cycles) TMZ chemotherapy (control group). Differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between the two groups were analyzed to evaluate the effects of multi-cycle and standard-cycle TMZ chemotherapies. The survival rates of the patients in both groups were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier survival curve. Results: The median PFS times were 10.5 months and 7.7 months in the study and control groups, respectively (P = 0.010), while the median OS times were 27.2 and 19.8 months, respectively (P = 0.036). The 1-, 2 -, and 3-year survival rates in the control group were 77.1 %, 42.9 %, and 25.7 % while those in the study group were 87.8 % (P = 0.344), 63.6 % (P = 0.097), and 39.4 % (P = 0.302), respectively. Conclusions: The multi-cycle TMZ chemotherapy could prolong the OS and PFS time of patients with glioblastoma undergoing surgery and successive radiotherapy. However, it could not significantly elevate the 1 -, 2 -, and 3-year survival rates of these patients.

Keywords

• Glioblastoma
• Temozolomide
• Chemotherapy
• Survival