Radiation Therapy With or Without PCV for Low-Grade Glioma

Clinical Pearls

Walter J. Curran, Jr, MD, Lawrence W. Davis Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, executive director, chair, Cancer Research, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, discusses a study that looked at radiation therapy with or without procarbazine, CCNU, and vincristine (PCV) for the treatment of low-grade glioma.

• This study began in 1998 and shows the importance of doing studies with long follow-up for patients with rare tumors.
• Patients were randomized to radiation therapy alone or radiation therapy followed by PCV.
• A statistically significant improvement in survival was seen with radiation therapy followed by PCV. These results are practice changing.