An Evaluation of the Tolerability and Feasibility of Combining 5-Amino-Levulinic Acid (5-ALA) with BCNU Wafers in the Surgical Management of Primary Glioblastoma



Watts, Colin, Ashkan, Keyoumars, Jenkinson, Michael D ORCID: 0000-0003-4587-2139, Price, Stephen J, Santarius, Thomas, Matys, Tomasz, Zhang, Ting Ting, Finch, Alina, Collins, Peter, Allinson, Kieren
et al (show 8 more authors) (2021) An Evaluation of the Tolerability and Feasibility of Combining 5-Amino-Levulinic Acid (5-ALA) with BCNU Wafers in the Surgical Management of Primary Glioblastoma. CANCERS, 13 (13). 3241-.

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Abstract

<i>Background</i> Glioblastoma (GBM) is the commonest primary malignant brain tumour in adults and effective treatment options are limited. Combining local chemotherapy with enhanced surgical resection using 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) could improve outcomes. Here we assess the safety and feasibility of combining BCNU wafers with 5-ALA-guided surgery. <i>Methods</i> We conducted a multicentre feasibility study of 5-ALA with BCNU wafers followed by standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy (chemoRT) in patients with suspected GBM. Patients judged suitable for radical resection were administered 5-ALA pre-operatively and BCNU wafers at the end resection. Post-operative treatment continued as per routine clinical practice. The primary objective was to establish if combining 5-ALA and BCNU wafers is safe without compromising patients from receiving standard chemoRT. <i>Results</i> Seventy-two patients were recruited, sixty-four (88.9%) received BCNU wafer implants, and fifty-nine (81.9%) patients remained eligible following formal histological diagnosis. Seven (11.9%) eligible patients suffered surgical complications but only two (3.4%) were not able to begin chemoRT, four (6.8%) additional patients did not begin chemoRT within 6 weeks of surgery due to surgical complications. Eleven (18.6%) patients did not begin chemoRT for other reasons (other toxicity (<i>n</i> = 3), death (<i>n</i> = 3), lost to follow-up/withdrew (<i>n</i> = 3), clinical decision (<i>n</i> = 1), poor performance status (<i>n</i> = 1)). Median progression-free survival was 8.7 months (95% CI: 6.4-9.8) and median overall survival was 14.7 months (95% CI: 11.7-16.8). <i>Conclusions</i> Combining BCNU wafers with 5-ALA-guided surgery in newly diagnosed GBM patients is both feasible and tolerable in terms of surgical morbidity and overall toxicity. Any potential therapeutic benefit for the sequential use of 5-ALA and BCNU with chemoRT requires further investigation with improved local delivery technologies.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: glioblastoma, 5-aminolevulinic acid, BCNU wafers, chemoRT, feasibility trial
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Jul 2021 08:21
Last Modified: 14 Feb 2024 08:53
DOI: 10.3390/cancers13133241
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3129129