Oncothermia for advanced brain gliomas
None of the established state-of-the-art treatments in malignant primary brain tumors, especially in glioblastoma multiform (GBM), could show effective or commonly accepted curative potential until today, [1]. The earlier well accepted PCV combined chemotherapy (Procarbazine + CCNU (Lomustine) + Vincristine) was shown to be inefficient (n=339 and n=335 in the control- and active-arms, respectively) [2]. In a study where patients did not undergo debulking surgery, survival time was found to be less than 6 months and 2-year survival rate ended up at 0% [3]. The three studies of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) retrospectively enrolled 1578 patients from 1974-1989, updated in 1991, show overall survival for anaplastic astrocytoma of 49.4 m for patients under the age of 50 years and 21.7 m. for those being older, while for glioblastoma multiforme 13.7 m and 9.7 m were obtained, respectively. The editorial question of JAMA [4] in 2005 is actual even now: “Where to go from here?” Our objective is showing feasible way to go, summarizing the results obtained till now by modulated electro-hyperthermia (oncothermia) in various clinics in EU. Hyperthermia (HT) combined with conventional therapies seems to be a promising method for glioma treatment by enhancing chemo- and radio-sensitivity [5]. Controlled, randomized, doublearmed clinical studies study of Sneed et al. [6], indicated a surprisingly good efficacy of invasive (interstitial) HT treatment for brain-tumors: the median survival had improved from 76 to 85 weeks, and the 2-year survival went up to 31% vs. 15%. In consequence, the FDA certified HT to the brain in its invasive interstitial form.