Aggressive approach in glioblastoma multiformea. Rare case of long term survival

Abstract

Introduction: Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor and, as a result, carries a very poor prognosis. Although average survival period ranges from 6 to 12 monthsdepending on the patient’s age, performance status and response to treatment, some cases of long term survival have been reported in the literature. The factors that influence long-term prognosis are not yet understood. Clinical case: We report the case of a 63 year old man that gets diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), undergoes subtotal resection, but radiotherapy and chemotherapy are performed 4 months after the surgery due to patient non-compliance. In this 4 moths the tumor increased in size becoming an inoperable tumor. After receiving adjuvant therapy consisting of radiotherapy concomitant with Temodal, followed by 12 cures of chemotherapy with Temozolamide, the tumor progression and size was reduced in the course of 27 months from 43mm to 35mm and is well managed today. The patient currently has an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 1 and has a rare 3-year long term survival as a result of the adjuvant therapy. Conclusion: For a better understanding of the reasons behind long term GBM survivors, it is of vital importance to study and understand each and every case of the sort as it may provide crucial information for future treatment development.