Tumour Treating Fields (TTFields) in combination with lomustine and temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma

• Published in: Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 2020-03, Vol.146 (3), p.787-792
• Main Authors: Lazaridis, Lazaros, Schäfer, Niklas, Teuber-Hanselmann, Sarah, Blau, Tobias, Schmidt, Teresa, Oster, Christoph, Weller, Johannes, Tzaridis, Theophilos, Pierscianek, Daniela, Keyvani, Kathy, Kleinschnitz, Christoph, Stuschke, Martin, Scheffler, Björn, Deuschl, Cornelius, Sure, Ulrich, Herrlinger, Ulrich, Kebir, Sied, Glas, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - mortality; Brain Neoplasms - therapy; Cancer Research; Chemoradiotherapy - methods; Combined Modality Therapy; Disease-Free Survival; DNA methyltransferase; Electric Stimulation Therapy - methods; Electric Stimulation Therapy - mortality; Female; Glioblastoma; Glioblastoma - mortality; Glioblastoma - therapy; Hematology; Humans; Internal Medicine; Lomustine - administration & dosage; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Methylguanine; O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase; Oncology; Original Article – Clinical Oncology; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Survival; Temozolomide; Temozolomide - administration & dosage; Toxicity; Tumors
• ISSN: 0171-5216; 1432-1335
• DOI: 10.1007/s00432-019-03106-8

Purpose In the EF-14 trial for newly diagnosed glioblastoma (ndGBM) patients addition of Tumour Treating Fields (TTFields) to temozolomide treatment resulted in a significantly improved overall survival (OS). In the NOA-09/CeTeG trial, combination of lomustine and temozolomide was superior to temozolomide monotherapy in patients with O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylated (MGMTm) ndGBM. We evaluated combination of these two treatment modalities in patients with MGMTm ndGBM. There have been so far no data on the combination of these two efficient regimens. Methods This bicentric retrospective analysis investigated 16 patients. Parameters evaluated included safety outcome as measured by Common Toxicity Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), clinical outcomes, and compliance to treatment. Results Hematologic adverse events CTCAE ≥ 3 were observed in seven, hepatotoxic adverse events of CTCAE ≥ 3 in four patients. Mild to moderate skin toxicity was detected in six patients. At data cutoff, patients demonstrated a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 20 months. The usage rate of TTFields showed a high median adherence (83%) to the therapy. Conclusions This analysis provides first indication that the combination of TTFields/lomustine/temozolomide is safe and feasible. The observed survival outcomes might suggest potential beneficial effects.