Retrospective cohort study of bevacizumab and gamma knife radiosurgery for first-recurrence glioblastoma

Despite decades of developments in surgical management, radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and tumor treating field theray, glioblastoma (GBM) remains an ultimately fatal disease, with no definitive standard of care for patients with recurrent glioblastoma after failure of initial management. A retrospective cohort study at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, NY) evaluated effects of bevacizumab (BEV) and gamma knife radiosurgery (GK) among patients with first recurrence of GBM. The combination of BEV and GK was associated with improved post-recurrence progression-free and overall survival (median 7.7 and 11.5 months, respectively) when compared with BEV only and GK only, and also when compared with first-recurrence GBM previously reported in the literature. The authors conclude that the combination of BEV and GK is a promising option for patients with first-recurrence GBM.