Chemotherapy for malignant gliomas

Abstract

Concomitant and adjuvant treatment with Temozolomide, an oral alkylating agent, has significantly improved the survival of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (study EORTC 26981/22981, NCIC CE3). When given with the appropriate cautiousness including weekly clinical and laboratory controls during the concomitant phase, this therapy is generally well tolerated. The observed toxicity is mainly haematological. Grade III and IV toxicities mainly thrombocytopenia or lymphocytopenia occur in around 5 % of patients. A prophylaxis against pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was mandatory in the EORTC study. Most importantly, the quality of life of the patients was maintained throughout the therapy. This success has boosted the whole field of neurooncology, after a dry spell of more than thirty years for glioblastoma multiforme. Whether this concept will be applicable to other brain tumours and which schedule modifications or combinations with biologicals will improve the effectivity of therapy in brain tumours should be explored in further studies.

Strength of skeletal muscle and self-reported physical performance in Austrian glioblastoma-patients

“…Qq-plots of peak torque of knee extensor muscles showed marked deviations from normal distribution. Therefore, Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed to compare patients to expected values survive longer [1,2,[26][27][28][29]. Nevertheless, many of these patients are suffering from muscle weakness, fatigue, and rapid exhaustion in the early course of disease and probably related to the prescription of dexamethasone against increased cranial pressure [4][5][6][7][8]30].…”

Effects of Plumbagin on Proliferation, Invasion and Migration of Glioma Cell Line U-118

“…As a kind of α- (1,4-) naphthoquinone compound, plumbagin has a wide range of biological activities. In recent years, it has been found that plumbagin can inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer, lung cancer, osteosarcoma, liver cancer, leukemia, ovarian cancer and other tumor cells, which shows its good anti-tumor prospects and has attracted extensive attention [4][5][6][7] . Previous studies have shown that plumbagin can inhibit the proliferation of glioma cells and induce the apoptosis process.…”

Comparative drug pair screening across multiple glioblastoma cell lines reveals novel drug-drug interactions

“…In addition, TMZ treatment is fraught with side effects, such as hematological toxicity, vomiting, fatigue, and nausea. 4 Further, many GBM patients develop resistance to the drug. 5,6 There is thus a need to identify novel strategies for pharmacological treatment with improved efficacy, lower variability across patients, reduced rate of resistance development, and fewer side effects.…”