Phase II Trial of Low-Dose Whole Brain Radiotherapy With Concurrent Temozolomide and Adjuvant Temozolomide in Patients With Newly-Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme

Radiation Therapy (RT) has been integral in the treatment of GBM since the 1970s. Studies showed that post-operative whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) offered significant improvements in median survival time, and even more so when given with chemotherapy. Even with WBRT, a huge volume of healthy brain tissue was unnecessarily treated with high-dose radiation; re-growth of tumor with WBRT remained overwhelmingly close to the original tumor site. With the advances in imaging techniques, like CT scans and MRIs, partial brain RT (PBRT) has become a common practice. PBRT is RT given only to the tumor or area of the brain where the cancer was removed. PBRT given with a drug called temozolomide (TMZ) is used as the standard of care treatment for newly diagnosed GBM after surgery. Current data from our institution suggests that the combination of TMZ with very low-dose WBRT efficiently kills GBM cells. WBRT at conventional higher doses is not given at the same time as TMZ since the severe toxicity risk would be too risky. However, a lower daily WBRT dose, than what is conventionally given to patients, should be tolerable. The randomized trials studying TMZ with low-dose WBRT in patients with brain metastasis did not demonstrate increased serious toxicities associated with TMZ. PURPOSE OF STUDY Why is the research study being done? The purpose of this study is to determine if low-dose WBRT given in combination with the standard of care TMZ regimen is safe and effective. The role of the low-dose WBRT would be to safely treat the microscopic distant GBM cells outside of the high-dose PBRT region. We will continue to target the tumor with focused PBRT that will bring the total tumor dose to the standard of care dose. This study will find out what effects, good or bad, low-dose WBRT has on you and your cancer. PROCEDURES How many people will take part in the study? About 47 people will take part in this study. Patient participation in this study is voluntary. The research will be conducted at UMMS. What will happen if I take part in this research study? Before you begin the study… Patient will need to have the following exams, tests or procedures to find out if you can be in the study. These exams, tests or procedures are part of regular cancer care and may be done even if Patient does not join the study. If he/she has had some of them recently, they may not need to be repeated. This will be up to the study doctor. * History and physical with neurological examination * Brain MRI with contrast * Blood tests (about 2-3 teaspoons of blood will be taken from the vein) * Pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential During the study… The experimental part of this study is that the patient will receive low-dose WBRT. If the tests show that the patient can be in the study, and he/she chooses to take part, patient will receive low-dose WBRT at the same time as standard PBRT. The patient will receive RT once daily, 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) for 6 weeks (a total of 30 treatments). Each treatment lasts for no more than 30 minutes. Treatment will begin 3-6 weeks after your last surgery. At the same time as RT you will take oral TMZ once a day. TMZ will be taken continuously from the night before the first day of RT to the last day of RT (maximum of 49 days). The pills should be swallowed whole and taken on an empty stomach, therefore a minimum of 2 hours after eating and with no food consumption for at least 1 hour after TMZ administration. The drug will be taken at night. About 4 weeks after you finish RT and TMZ, you will begin 28 day cycles of TMZ alone. You will take TMZ orally on the first 5 days of each cycle. Again, the pills should swallowed whole and taken on an empty stomach, therefore a minimum of 2 hours after eating and with no food consumption for at least 1 hour after TMZ administration. You should take the TMZ at night. If patient misses any dose of TMZ, it will not be made up the next day. The patient will be treated with post-radiation TMZ for 6 cycles unless there is evidence of tumor progression or treatment-related toxicity. Patients demonstrating continued benefit from the adjuvant treatment can continue treatment to a maximum of 12 cycles at the discretion of the treating physician. If the exams, tests and procedures show that the patient can be in the study, and they choose to take part, then he/she will need the following tests and procedures. They are part of regular cancer care. Weekly during RT and TMZ: * Patient evaluation with toxicity assessment * Blood tests (about 2-3 teaspoons of blood will be taken from the vein) Prior to starting each cycle of TMZ alone: * History and physical with neurological examination and toxicity assessment * Blood tests (about 2-3 teaspoons of blood will be taken from the vein) * Prior to cycle 1 and then every 2-3 months, a brain MRI with contrast Blood tests (about 2-3 teaspoons of blood will be taken from your vein) will also be performed at about 2 and 3 weeks (days 14 and 21 (± 2days)) after starting cycle 1 and cycle 2 of TMZ alone During follow-up… Once patient has completed all the cycles of TMZ the patient will be seen every 1-3 months for the first two years (years 1-2), 3-6 months for the next 2 years (years 3-4), and then annually starting at year 5. During these follow-up visits the patient will have the following tests and procedures performed: * History and physical with neurological examination and toxicity assessment * Brain MRI with contrast * Any other test deemed medically necessary The doctors would like to keep track of the medical condition for the rest of the patient's life. Keeping in touch with the patient and checking on their condition yearly helps the physicians to look at the long-term effects of the study.