Primary glial tumor patients treated by combining cis-platin and etoposide.

Thirty eight patients with malignant gliomas (27 GBM and 11 AA) were treated with up to 7 cycles of CDDP + VP16 every month after surgery. Chemotherapy was planned as two cycles before and 5 cycles after radiation (42 Gy) using a three times daily fractionation schedule. No severe toxicity was observed. The object of our study was to investigate the antitumor effectiveness by combining CDDP plus VP16 against primary malignant glial tumors. The time to tumor progression (TTP) and survival time (ST) of the GBM patients in the present study were 38.5 and 68.5 weeks respectively. The TTP of the AA patients was 73 weeks and the ST was not calculated as most patients are still alive. By the 18th. month after surgery, 38% of GBM and 74% of AA patients treated with (CDDP + VP16) are still alive. This study demonstrates that the combination of CDDP and VP16 is effective in patients with malignant gliomas.