Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) activity is up-regulated in several types of tumors including glioblastoma (GBM). In the present study, 128 primary glioblastoma patients were examined for single nucleotide polymorphisms of TERT in blood and in 92 cases for TERT promoter mutations in tumors. TERT promoter mutations were observed in 86% of the tumors and of these, C228T (−124 bp upstream start codon) was detected in 75% and C250T (−146 bp) in 25% of cases. TERT promoter mutations were associated with shorter overall survival (11 vs. 20 months p = 0.002 and 12 vs. 20, p = 0.04 for C228T and C250T, respectively). The minor alleles of rs2736100 and rs10069690 SNP's, located in intron 2 and the promotor regions, respectively, were associated with an increased risk of developing GBM (p = 0.004 and 0.001). GBM patients having both TERT promoter mutations and being homozygous carriers of the rs2853669 C-allele displayed significantly shorter overall survival than those with the wild type allele. The rs2853669 SNP is located in a putative Ets2 binding site in the promoter (−246 bp upstream start codon) close to the C228T and C250T mutation hot spots. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression regulated by TERT promoter status and polymorphism, what leads us to think that TERT and IL-6 plays a significant role in GBM, where specific SNPs increase the risk of developing GBM while the rs2853669 SNP and specific mutations in the TERT promoter of the tumor lead to shorter survival.

OBJECTIVE Prognostic value of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data may be important to inform patients in clinical practice and to guide clinical decision-making. Our study investigated the added prognostic value of HRQoL for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in a large heterogeneous sample of glioma patients, besides known prognostic factors. METHODS We included individual baseline data from previously published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in glioma patients in which HRQoL was assessed through the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BN20 questionnaires. Multivariable Cox regression models (stratified for newly diagnosed versus recurrent disease) were constructed, first with clinical variables (age, sex, tumour type, performance status, allocated treatment and extent of resection) only and subsequently with HRQoL variables added, separately for OS and PFS. The added prognostic value of HRQoL was calculated using C-indices. RESULTS Baseline HRQoL and clinical data from 15 RCTs were included, comprising 5217 patients. In the model including both clinical and HRQoL variables, better cognitive and role functioning and less motor dysfunction were independently associated with longer OS, whereas better role and cognitive functioning, less nausea and vomiting and more appetite loss were independently associated with prolonged PFS. However, C-indices indicated only a small prognostic improvement of the models for OS and PFS when adding HRQoL to the clinical prognostic variables (+1.1% for OS and +.7% for PFS). CONCLUSION Our findings demonstrate that several baseline HRQoL variables are independently prognostic for OS and PFS, yet the added value of HRQoL to the known clinical prognostic variables was small.

LBA2002 Background: Despite treatment advances, survival of elderly GBM patients (pts) is usually < 12 months. Hypofractionated RT is advocated in order to shorten treatment time, and chemotherapy has been proposed as an alternative to RT. In a randomized trial we compared two different RT schedules with single-agent TMZ chemotherapy. Methods: Newly diagnosed GBM pts age ≥ 60 years with PS 0-2, were randomized to either standard RT (60 Gy in 2 Gy fractions over 6 weeks) or hypofractionated RT (34 Gy in 3,4 Gy fractions over 2 weeks) or 6 cycles of chemotherapy with TMZ (200 mg/m2 day 1-5 every 28 days). Follow-up including quality of life, symptom checklist, and steroid dosing was completed at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after start of treatment. The primary study end point was overall survival (OS). Results: A total of 342 pts were included. 291 pts were randomized between the 3 treatment options, 51 pts between hypofractionated RT and TMZ. Median age was 70 years (range 60-88), 59% were male and 72% had undergone tumor resection, the remaining 28% had a diagnostic biopsy only. Performance status was 0-1 for 75% of pts. Survival data are available for 334 pts (98%), with 11 pts (3%) being alive. There was no significant difference in OS between the three treatment arms, with median survival being 8 months for TMZ, 7.5 months for hypofractionated RT and 6 months for 6 weeks RT (p=0.14). Conclusions: Elderly patients with GBM have a short survival. Time-consuming therapy that does not offer longer survival should therefore be avoided. Our study showed no advantage of standard 6 weeks RT compared to hypofractionated RT over 2 weeks or 6 cycles of TMZ chemotherapy. These results indicate that standard RT should no longer be offered to the elderly pt population with GBM. Exclusive TMZ chemotherapy may be an alternative to RT. Subgroup analyses and determination of molecular markers is ongoing. Whether outcome could be improved by concomitant chemoradiotherapy is subject of ongoing clinical trials. [Table: see text]