Interstitial photodynamic therapy for newly diagnosed glioblastoma

Despite aggressive therapy the median overall survival for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM) is shorter than 20 months, and new treatments are needed. A study at Ludwig-Maximilians University (München, Germany) evaluated interstitial photodynamic therapy (iPTD) for newly diagnosed GBM. Patients underwent iPDT as upfront eradicating local therapy followed by standard chemoradiation. Median progression-free and overall survival were significantly longer than what was seen in an in-house control cohort treated with complete tumor resection followed by chemoradiation. Permanent iPDT-associated morbidity was seen in one patient (6.3%). The authors conclude that iPDT is a feasible treatment concept and might be associated with long-term PFS in a subgroup of GBM patients.