Short Course vs. Standard Course Radiotherapy in Elderly and/or Frail Patients With Glioblastoma Multiforme

A Randomized Phase III Study of Short Course (One-week) Radiation Therapy Versus Standard Course (Three-week) Radiation Therapy in Elderly and/or Frail Patients With Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Multiforme

Status

Completed

Phases

Phase 3

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01450449

Enrollment

115

Registered

2011-10-12

Start date

2009-02-28

Completion date

2014-11-30

Last updated

2015-03-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Glioblastoma Multiforme

Keywords

GBM, fractionation, short course, standard course

Brief summary

This is a multi-centre prospective, non-inferiority trial. Patients will be randomized to two treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio and will be stratified by age, Karnofsky Performance Status and extent of the surgical resection. This study will assess the effect of a one-week radiotherapy regimen in comparison with a three-week radiotherapy regimen on the survival of elderly and/or frail patients with glioblastoma multiforme (Frail: ≥\>50 years old and with a KPS of 50% or less50%-70%; Elderly and frail: ≥65 years and with a KPS of 50% - 70%; Elderly: ≥65 years and with a KPS of 80% - 100%).

Detailed description

This is a multi-centre prospective, non-inferiority trial. Patients will be randomized to two treatment groups in a 1:1 ratio and will be stratified by: * Age (\<65 and ≥65 years old) * Karnofsky Performance Status (≤70 and \> 7050 or higher) * Extent of the resection at surgery (biopsy only versus complete/near total and gross total or incomplete /partial resection) Randomization: Patients will be randomized to receive one of the two following treatments: Arm 1: * Short Radiotherapy * 25 Gy/5 fractions * 1 week (5 fractions per week) Arm 2: * Regular Radiotherapy * 40 Gy/15 fractions * 3 weeks (5 fractions per week)

Interventions

RADIATIONRadiotherapy

25 Gy in 5 daily fractions over 1 week

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

50 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Histopathologically confirmed newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM, WHO grade IV). The histological diagnosis must have been made locally after biopsy or neurosurgical tumour resection. * Initial surgery/biopsy at diagnosis performed \< 6 weeks (42 days) prior to randomization. * Patient's age is 50 years or older. * Karnofsky performance status is 50% or higher. * Patients may have received and continue to receive corticosteroids, but they have to be on a stable or decreasing dose for at least 14 days prior to randomization. * Patients must not have received prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy. * Patient is able (i.e. sufficiently fluent) and willing to complete the quality of life questionnaires in either English or any other language the questionnaire is officially translated into. The baseline assessment (prior to start of radiotherapy) must already have been completed. Inability (illiteracy, loss of sight, or other equivalent reason) to complete the questionnaires will not make the patient ineligible for the study. In centres where patients are not able to read or write, proxy interviews will be conducted in-person or via telephone by the nurse at that particular centre. * Patient consent must be obtained according to local institutional policy. It will be the responsibility of the local participating investigators to obtain the necessary local clearance, and to indicate in writing to the IAEA Study Coordinator that such clearance has been obtained, before the trial can commence in that centre. A copy of the initial full board ERB approval and approved consent form must be sent to the Project Officer at IAEA. The patient must sign the consent form prior to randomization or registration. * Patients must be accessible for treatment and follow-up. Investigators must assure themselves the patients randomized on this trial will be available for complete documentation of the treatment, adverse events, and follow-up. * Protocol treatment is to begin within 2 weeks of patient randomization.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients with a history of other malignancies, except: adequately treated non-melanoma skin cancer, curatively treated in-situ cancer of the cervix, or other solid tumours curatively treated with no evidence of disease for 3 or more years. * Patients with a serious active infection or other serious underlying medical conditions that would impair the ability of the patient to receive protocol treatment or comply with protocol.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Overall Survival	2.5 years	The time from randomization to the time of death from any cause.

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Quality of Life	2.5 years	Quality of life will be assessed prior to study randomization and 4 weeks following completion of radiotherapy.
Progression-free survival	2.5 years	2.5 years including six months of follow-up after initial accrual.

Countries

Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Estonia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Poland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey (Türkiye)

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026