A pilot study of primary temozolomide chemotherapy and deferred radiotherapy in elderly patients with glioblastoma.

There is no standard of care for elderly patients (age>or=70 years) with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM). In 15 consecutive patients (median age 79 years) treated with temozolomide (TMZ) (42 days on; 14 days off), median survival was 6 months (range 4-14 months). This pilot study suggests that low dose daily TMZ may represent an alternative and equally effective treatment to more traditionally administered radiotherapy.