Prospective comparative study of intraoperative balloon electronic brachytherapy versus resection with multidisciplinary adjuvant therapy for recurrent glioblastoma.

Background Intraoperative balloon electronic brachytherapy (IBEB) may provide potential benefit for local control of recurrent cerebral glioblastomas (GBMs). Methods This is a preliminary report of an open-label, prospective, comparative cohort study conducted in two neurosurgical centers with ongoing follow-up. At recurrence, patients at one center (n = 15) underwent reresection with IBEB while, at the second center (n = 15), control subjects underwent re-resection with various accepted second-line adjuvant chemoradiotherapy options. A comparative analysis of overall survival (OS) and local progression-free survival (LPFS) following re-resection was performed. Exploratory subgroup analysis based on postoperative residual contrast-enhanced volume status was also done. Results In the IBEB group, median LPFS after re-resection was significantly longer than in the control group (8.0 vs. 6.0 months; log rank χ2 = 4.93, P = 0.026, P < 0.05). In addition, the median OS after second resection in the IBEB group was also significantly longer than in the control group (11.0 vs. 8.0 months; log rank χ2 = 4.23, P = 0.04, P < 0.05). Conclusion These hypothesis-generating results from a small cohort of subjects suggest putative clinical benefit in OS and LPFS associated with maximal safe re-resection of recurrent GBM with IBEB versus re-resection and standard adjuvant therapy, a hypothesis that deserves further testing in an appropriately powered clinical trial.