Expression of O6-methylguanine-deoxyribose nucleic acid methyltransferase and temozolomide response in a patient with a malignant spinal cord astrocytoma. Case report.

The authors report the case of a 28-year-old woman with a high-grade spinal cord astrocytoma. Treatment using surgery, radiation, and temozolomide (TMZ) led to functional recovery and regression of the residual tumor as demonstrated on serial magnetic resonance images. Genetic testing revealed that this tumor did not express the DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). This is the first report in the literature correlating MGMT expression with the clinical response of a high-grade spinal cord astrocytoma treated using TMZ.