OBJECTIVE

To determine overall survival rates according to prognostic factors and a treatment method in patients with recurrent low-grade gliomas.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Results were retrospectively assessed in 41 patients diagnosed with recurrent grade 1 and grade 2 gliomas and treated in the Chelyabinsk Regional Clinical Center of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine in 2010 to 2020. The mean age was 48±4.7 years. The male-to- female ratio was 2:1. The mean time of recurrence occurrence was 46.4 months. One recurrence was recorded in 34 patients, while two consecutive recurrences were in 7. The treatment for recurrent low-grade gliomas included resurgery (n=5), different types of repeat radiotherapy (n=22), temozolomide monochemotherapy (n=5), and combination treatment for recurrent glioma (n=9).

RESULTS

In this investigation, the overall survival (OS) rates in patients with recurrent low-grade gliomas were 72 months. The 1- and 3-year OS rates were 82.5% and 36.4%, respectively. The median overall survival after treatment for recurrence was 35 months. Age, gender, and initial histological findings did not affect survival rates. According to the method of first-line recurrence treatment, the best overall survival rates in the radiotherapy and resurgery groups were observed to be 134 and 110 months, respectively. In the second-line treatment for recurrences, the 1-year OS rates after chemotherapy were 86%, while those after repeat irradiation were only 59% (p=0.76).

CONCLUSION

The histological type of the primary tumor, gender, and age do not affect the time of recurrence occurrence and clinical outcome. The treatment for recurrence can use the same therapeutic options as those in treating the primary tumor. Whether resurgery should be followed by a radiotherapy cycle in the first-line treatment and whether second- and subsequent-line treatments should be planned should be considered.