Long-term treatment outcomes of temozolomide-based chemoradiation in patients with adult-type diffuse IDH-mutant grade 2 astrocytoma

Purpose To report the long-term outcomes in adult patients with grade 2 IDH-mutant astrocytoma treated with temozolomide (TMZ)-based chemoradiation. Methods: One hundred and three patients with histologically proven grade 2 astrocytoma received radiation therapy (RT), 50.4–54 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions, and adjuvant TMZ up to 12 cycles. Fifty-two patients received RT at the time of tumor progression and 51 in the early postoperative period for the presence of at least one high-risk feature (age > 40 years, preoperative tumor size > 5 cm, large postoperative residual tumor, tumor crossing the midline, or presence of neurological symptoms). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated from the time of diagnosis. Results With a median follow-up time of 9.0 years (range, 1.3–15 years), median PFS and OS times were 9 years (95%CI, 6.6–10.3) and 11.8 years (95%CI, 9.3–13.4), respectively. Median PFS was 10.6 years in the early treatment group and 6 years in delayed treatment group (hazard ratio (HR) 0.30; 95%CI 0.16–0.59; p = 0.0005); however, OS was not significantly different between groups (12.8 vs. 10.4 years; HR 0.64; 95%CI 0.33–1.25; p = 0.23). Extent of resection, KPS, and small residual disease were associated with OS, with postoperative tumor ≤ 1 cc that emerged as the strongest independent predictor (HR: 0.27; 95%CI 0.08–0.87; p = 0.01). Conclusions TMZ-based chemoradiation is associated with survival benefit in patients with grade 2 IDH-mutant astrocytoma. For this group of patients, chemoradiation can be deferred until time of progression in younger patients receiving extensive resection, while early treatment should be recommended in high-risk patients.