Intracranial 131I-chTNT Brachytherapy in Patients with Deep-Seated Glioma: A Single-center Experience with 10-Year Follow-up from China.

OBJECTIVE  The intracranial brachytherapy has been applied for decades, however, no results with long-term follow-up have been reported. This study investigated the long-term efficiency of intra-tumoral injection of 131I-chTNT in patients with deep-seated glioma. METHOD  Thirty-five patients undergoing 131I-chTNT brachytherapy between December 2004 and May 2009 were enrolled. 131I-chTNT was injected at a dose of 1.5 mCi/cm3 at an interval of 1 month for consecutive 3 times. Serial ECT scan and MRI were performed during follow-up. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. Adverse reactions were graded with WHO Toxicity Grading Scale for determining the severity of adverse events. RESULTS  ECT scan showed that enhanced accumulation of radioactive agents in the tumor lasted for more than 30 days. Three months after final injection, tumor complete remission (CR) was observed in 4 patients (11.4 %), partial remission (PR) in 11 cases (31.4 %), stable disease (SD) in 10 cases (28.6 %) and progressive disease (PD) in 10 cases (28.6 %). At 6-month, CR, PR, SD and PD were 2, 6, 12 and 15 respectively. After 10 years of follow-up, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 5.4 and 11.4 months. One-year survival was 45.7 %, two and five-year survival was 8.6 %, ten-year survival was 5.7 %. Multivariate analysis showed that pathological grade and tumor diameter were independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS. Grade I-II adverse events occurred after drug injection, including nausea, fever, headache, hairloss and fatigue. CONCLUSION  131I-chTNT intracranial brachytherapy is efficient and safe for patients with deep-seated glioma. It is a reliable option for inoperable glioma patients.