TREATMENT OF GRADE-III AND GRADE-IV ASTROCYTOMAS WITH BCNU ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH VM-26 FOLLOWING SURGERY AND RADIATION-THERAPY

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 63  (11-1) , 1707-1711
Abstract
Patients (21) with grade III or IV astrocytomas were assigned randomly to receive either BCNU [1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosurea] alone or BCNU and VM-26 [4-demethylepipodophyllotoxin thenylidene-.beta.-D-glucopyranoside] after surgery and radiation therapy. Patients surviving radiation therapy and receiving single-agent chemotherapy had a median survival of 14 mo. while those receiving combination chemotherapy had a median survival of 22 mo. (P > 0.05). None of the patients who failed BCNU-only therapy responded to VM-26. Peformance status was not affected by either regimen. Computerized tomographic scanning of the brain was useful only in confirming tumor progression. Two patients died from BCNU-related interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.

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