Patterns of relapse in patients with high grade glioma receiving combined treatments including stereotactic re-irradiation for a first relapse

Abstract Purpose Bevacizumab and stereotactic treatment are efficient combined or alone in relapse glioma. However, patterns of relapse after this kind of salvage treatment have never been studied. The purpose of this unicentric retrospective analysis was to assess and understand the patterns of relapse of high grade glioma treated with stereotactic radiation, with or without bevacizumab. Patients and methods Twenty patients with high grade glioma relapse received a stereotactic radiation; among them two patients received temozolomide and eight patients received bevacizumab; among the latter, four received also irinotecan. We matched the stereotactic radiation treatment planning scan with the images of the first treatment and of the second relapse in order to determine the patterns of failure and associate dosimetric profile. Results For the total population, median follow-up from the first diagnosis and relapse were 46.1 and 17.6 months, respectively. Among the 13 patients who relapsed, ten did not receive chemotherapy and three received it ( P P Conclusion For patients with relapsed high grade glioma, local control was higher with combined bevacizumab and high-dose stereotactic radiation.