Temozolomide Plus Bevacizumab in Supratentorial Glioblastoma in 70 Years and Older Patients With an Impaired Functional Status

Elderly patients aged 65 years and older account for approximately 45% of GBM patients, and this figure is expected to rise concurrently with the aging population of most countries. Unfortunately, few trials have been performed in this setting. In elderly patients with good functional status (KPS \>70), radiotherapy (RT) prolongs overall survival (OS) without causing a detriment in quality of life compared with palliative care alone. Recently, it was shown that TMZ could be an alternative to RT. In elderly patients with poor functional status at symptom onset (KPS \< 70), RT does not appear to be a satisfactory option in this frail population; however, investigators previously found that TMZ alone was associated with improvements in functional status in 1/3 of cases and appeared to increase survival compared with supportive care alone, especially in methylated MGMT promoter patients. Bevacizumab (Bev) is an antiangiogenic monoclonal antibody targeting VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) that is currently used in recurrent GBM, particularly in combination with alkylating agents. Its effect as first line treatment in combination with TMZ and RT is controversial. In this study, investigators evaluated the efficacy and safety of the upfront combination of TMZ + Bev as an initial treatment for elderly patients with GBM and impaired functional status (KPS \<70).