Acta Medica Medianae
Vol. 50, No 3, September, 2011
UDK 61
ISSN 0365-4478(Printed version)
ISSN 1821-2794(Online)
 

Correspondence to:

Ivan Stefanović

Clinic of Neurosurgery

Clinical Center Niš

Bulevar dr Zorana Đinđića 48 18000 Niš, Serbia

Email:ivanstefmd@gmail.com

Original article                                

UDC: 616.831-006:615.849 doi:10.5633/amm.2011.0301

Influence of peritumoral edema on the outcome of radiotherapy of supratentorial noncystic glioblastoma multiforme

Ivan Stefanović¹, Aleksandar Kostić¹, Miša Radisavljević¹, Slađana Filipović² and Petar Bošnjaković³

Clinic of Neurosurgery, Clinical Centre Niš, Serbia¹

Clinic of Oncology, Clinical Centre Niš, Serbia²

Institute of Radiology, Clinical Centre Niš, Serbia³

The lifetime of an OH radical is 10-5 sec., i.e. ten billion times longer than the lifetime of a free electron, and most authors stress its indirect mechanism of DNA destruction as a predominant one in the radiation treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Although the concentration of OH radicals in brain edema is increased, the edema remodels the zone of tumor infiltration and prepares the ground for exterritorialization of tumor regions planned for irradiation, influencing the possibility of rapid recurrences.

The aim of the paper was to establish the impact of peritumoral edema on the time to recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, survival, type and incidence of postirradiation complications.

Sixty patients with total resection of supratentorial noncystic GBM were treated after a month with 60 Gy of radiation therapy, out of which one half to the therapeutic volume (TV) and the other half to the clinical target volume (CTV), and upon completion all of them were given the BCNU protocol. According to the recommendations by RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group), surgically treated patients were divided into those with edema below 25 cm³; 25-75 cm³; and finally those over 75 cm³.

Patients with peritumoral edema of over 75 cm³ had statistically significantly faster relapse, had poorer Karnofsky score, progression of peritumoral edema, and higher mortality if radiotherapy was delivered only to the CTV. Dispersion of radiation in the TV does not reduce the incidence of cutaneous postirradiation effects and cannot be justified for edemas smaller than 25 cm³. Acta Medica Medianae 2011;50(3):5-9.

            Key words: glioblastoma multiforme, radiotherapy, peritumoral edema, survival, radiation complications