Temozolomide or bevacizumab for spinal cord high-grade gliomas

J Neurooncol. 2012 Sep;109(2):385-9. doi: 10.1007/s11060-012-0905-5. Epub 2012 Jun 8.

Abstract

High-grade gliomas of the spinal cord are rare tumors, traditionally managed with surgery and radiotherapy. Once patients fail standard treatment, many receive some chemotherapy, although the data supporting such is limited. We reviewed our experience treating high-grade gliomas of the spinal cord with standard intracranial regimens including temozolomide and bevacizumab. Outcomes investigated include radiographic response, clinical response, progression-free survival, and overall survival. We identified eight patients who were treated with temozolomide and six who were treated with bevacizumab. Temozolomide was administered to three patients at initial diagnosis and five patients at recurrence after failing prior radiotherapy. For the recurrent patients, the median time-to-progression was 6.6 months (range 1-40 months) and the median overall survival from initiation of temozolomide was 16.6 months (range 1.2-64.5 months). We identified six patients who received bevacizumab at the time of recurrence. MRI demonstrated a partial response in five patients which also correlated with clinical improvement. The median time to progression was 20.7 months (range 3.3-29.9 months) and median overall survival was 22.8 months (range 3.3-31.8 months). This retrospective review suggests that temozolomide and bevacizumab may be beneficial in spinal cord high-grade gliomas. The compact architecture of the spinal cord makes bevacizumab a particularly appealing agent due to the drug's effect on peritumoral edema and mass effect.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / therapeutic use*
  • Arachnoid / drug effects
  • Arachnoid / pathology
  • Bevacizumab
  • Dacarbazine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Dacarbazine / therapeutic use
  • Female
  • Glioma / drug therapy*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Spinal Cord Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Temozolomide
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating
  • Bevacizumab
  • Dacarbazine
  • Temozolomide