Gliadel? wafer in initial surgery for malignant glioma: long-term follow-up of a multicenter controlled trial

摘要

Objective. Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy increases survival of primary malignant glioma patients beyond 12–18 months. The only interstitial chemotherapy treatment approved for malignant glioma is Gliadel® wafer containing carmustine (BCNU) placed in the resection cavity at surgery. Analysis of a large trial by Westphal and colleagues (n = 240) showed a 29% risk reduction (P = 0.03) in the BCNU wafer-treated group over the course of the 30-month trial. Long-term follow-up of these patients was undertaken to determine the survival benefit at 2 and 3 years.