Review the medical and surgical management of patients with prolactinomas and provide an in-depth appraisal of the role of radiotherapy in the treatment of prolactinomas. A thorough review of the pertinent literature was carried out and relevant topics were identified. Topics covered in this comprehensive review include: indications for the use of radiotherapy, choice between conventional radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery, as well as the benefits and potential complications associated with each modality. Due to the excellent response rates with medical management, and rapid symptom relief afforded by resection or debulking surgery in patients who do not respond or tolerate medical therapy, radiotherapy is reserved for patients who do not respond to dopamine agonists and surgery. Both external beam radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery retain important roles in the treatment of refractory or recurrent prolactinomas. Choosing the optimal approach is crucial in maximizing tumor control outcomes and minimizing the risks associated with treatment. The primary determinants of optimal radiation approach are proximity of the tumor to the optic apparatus and tumor size, with radiosurgery being our recommended treatment of choice unless the tumor is larger than 3-4 cm or within 3 mm of the optic nerves, chiasm or tracts. Optimal multidisciplinary management requires the identification of appropriate candidates for radiotherapy in order to take full advantage of treatment options available for each patient.
Therapeutic targeting of VEGF has lead to improvements in progression-free survival in GBM patients without any change in the overall survival. VEGF-targeted therapy remains a promising therapeutic opportunity if improvements in biomarkers, imaging techniques and rational combination therapy are used to help advance the clinical efficacy of this approach.
2076 Background: Low-grade gliomas account for 10-20% of all primary brain tumors. There is limited data on specific prognostic factors for patients with low-grade gliomas. Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, the Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center’s database was used to identify patients with histologically confirmed grade 2 glioma at the time of diagnosis. Multivariable analysis was conducted with use of a Cox proportional hazards model and a stepwise selection algorithm that used p<0.10 as the criteria for entry and p<0.05 as retention in the model to identify independent predictors of survival. Results: Chart records of 478 patients (54% of whom were men) diagnosed between 1991 and 2010 were included for analysis. The median age at presentation was 41 years (range, 18-83 years). 42% of patients had biopsy only, 27% had gross total resection, 6% had near total resection, and 25% had subtotal resection. 22% of patients were initially treated with radiation, 30% with adjuvant chemotherapy, and 7% with concurrent chemotherapy. Median progression free survival and median overall survival (OS) were 5.1 years and 12.8 years, respectively. On multivariate analysis, independent of additional therapy, five factors were identified as independent predictors of OS: age at diagnosis (p=0.002), Karnofsky performance status (KPS, p<0.0001), histology (astrocytoma vs. other, p=0.001), hemispheric location (left or bilateral involvement vs. right, p=0.02) and gender (male vs. female, p=0.0003). Conclusions: Older age, male gender, poor performance status, astrocytic histology, and left hemispheric or bilateral involvement are associated with higher mortality. [Table: see text]
2100 Background: Anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors include both anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO), and anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (AOA), histological categories of WHO grade 3 gliomas. There is limited data on specific prognostic factors for patients with these tumors. Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, the Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center’s database was used to identify patients with histologically confirmed AO and AOA at the time of diagnosis. Multivariable analysis was conducted with use of a Cox proportional hazards model and a stepwise selection algorithm that used p<0.05 both as the criteria for entry and retention in the model to identify independent predictors of survival. Results: Chart records of 139 patients, 52% of whom were male, diagnosed between 1992 and 2009 were included for analysis. Median age at presentation was 47 years (range, 18-83 years). 22% of patients had biopsy only, 35% had gross total resection, 43% had near total resection or subtotal resection. Following surgery, 30% of patients were treated with chemotherapy (CT) alone, 14% were treated with radiotherapy (RT) and 47% received both CT and RT. Median progression free survival and median overall survival (OS) were 29.0 and 58.7 months respectively. On multivariate analysis, four factors were identified as independent predictors of OS: age at diagnosis (≥50 vs. <50, p=0.004), Hypothyroidism (p=0.009), multifocal disease (p=0.005) and 1p 19q co-deletion (p<0.001). Choice of initial therapy did not impact survival in this cohort of patients. Conclusions: Older age, hypothyroidism and multifocal disease were associated with higher mortality. 1p, 19q co-deletion was associated with lower mortality. [Table: see text]
2093 Background: Low grade gliomas account for 10-20% of all primary brain tumors. The outcomes of older patients with low-grade glioma (LGG) are not well known. Methods: After obtaining IRB approval, the Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center’s database was used to identify older patients defined as those >55 years of age with histologically confirmed grade 2 glioma at the time of diagnosis. Multivariable analysis was conducted with use of a Cox proportional hazards model and a stepwise selection algorithm that used p<.10 as the criteria for entry and p<0.05 as retention in the model to identify independent predictors of survival. Results: Chart records of 61 patients diagnosed between 1991 and 2010 were included for final analysis. In contrast to patients ≤55 years, older patients are more likely to be male (p=.06), have poorer performance status at presentation (p<.0001), more comorbid conditions (p<.0001), present with more neurologic symptoms (p<.0001), have a prior history of cancer (p<.0001). They are more likely to have astrocytic histology (p=.008) and present with multifocal tumors more frequently (p=.001). Older patients received radiation (RT) upfront more frequently (p=.07) and undergo gross total resection less frequently (p=.003). Median Progression free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) was 1.9 and 4.3 years, respectively in these patients. On univariate analysis, patients with poor performance status have worse PFS (p=.01) and OS (p=.003). Patients with memory impairment have worse PFS (p=.009) and OS (p=.0001). Patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy had better OS (p=.01). Tumor related characteristics associated with poor survival included, "pure" or mixed astrocytoma histology (OS, p=.06), multifocal tumors (OS, p=.08), left-sided tumors (p=.07). In multivariable analysis, performance status was the only independent predictor of either PFS or OS. Conclusions: Older patients with low grade gliomas have less favorable outcomes as compared to younger patients. They have more comorbid conditions and symptoms at presentation. Use of chemotherapy in this patient group was associated with improved survival. Performance status was the only independent predictor of either PFS or OS.
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