Clinical Oncology
Volume 18, Issue 2 , Pages 93-103 , March 2006

Mathematical Modelling of Survival of Glioblastoma Patients Suggests a Role for Radiotherapy Dose Escalation and Predicts Poorer Outcome After Delay to Start Treatment

  • N.G. Burnet

      Affiliations

    • University of Cambridge, Department of Oncology, Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationAuthor for correspondence: Dr Neil G. Burnet, University of Cambridge Department of Oncology, Oncology Centre (Box 193), Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK. Tel: +44-1223-336800; Fax: +44-1223-763120.
    • ,
  • R. Jena

      Affiliations

    • University of Cambridge, Department of Oncology, Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • ,
  • S.J. Jefferies

      Affiliations

    • Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • ,
  • S.P. Stenning

      Affiliations

    • MRC Clinical Trials Unit, London, UK
    • ,
  • N.F. Kirkby

      Affiliations

    • Oncology Centre, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
    • Fluids Research Centre, School of Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK

Received 15 November 2004 ,Revised 17 August 2005 ,Accepted 17 August 2005.

References 

  1. Burnet NG, Jefferies SJ, Benson RJ, Hunt DP, Treasure FP. Years of life lost (YLL) from cancer is an important measure of population burden — and should be considered when allocating research funds. Br J Cancer. 2005;92:241–245
  2. NCRI . National Cancer Research Institute strategic analysis. London: NCRI; 2002;
  3. Burnet NG, Bulusu VR, Jefferies SJ. Management of primary brain tumours. In:  Booth S,  Bruera E editor. Palliative care consultations in primary and metastatic brain tumours. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2004;
  4. Chan JL, Lee SW, Fraass BA, et al. Survival and failure patterns of high-grade gliomas after three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy. J Clin Oncol. 2002;20:1635–1642
  5. Baumert BG, Lutterbach J, Bernays R, Davis JB, Heppner FL. Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy boost after post-operative radiotherapy in patients with high-grade gliomas. Radiother Oncol. 2003;67:183–190
  6. Fitzek MM, Thornton AF, Rabinov JD, et al. Accelerated fractionated proton/photon irradiation to 90 cobalt gray equivalent for glioblastoma multiforme: results of a phase II prospective trial. J Neurosurg. 1999;91:251–260
  7. Burnet NG, Benson RJ, Williams MV, Peacock JH. Improving cancer outcomes through radiotherapy. Lack of UK radiotherapy resources prejudices cancer outcomes. BMJ. 2000;320:198–199
  8. Do V, Gebski V, Barton MB. The effect of waiting for radiotherapy for grade III/IV gliomas. Radiother Oncol. 2000;57:131–136
  9. Press WH, Tenkolsky SA, Vetterling WT, Flannery BP. Fortran numerical recipes in Fortran 90. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1996;
  10. Burnet NG, Jena R, Jefferies SJ, Kirkby NF. A biochemical engineering approach to neuro-oncology: modelling the biology of brain tumours. Seventh World Congress of Chemical Engineering, CD of Congress Manuscripts, Glasgow, 10–14 July, O82-001, 2005:1–13.
  11. West CM, Davidson SE, Roberts SA, Hunter RD. Intrinsic radiosensitivity and prediction of patient response to radiotherapy for carcinoma of the cervix. Br J Cancer. 1993;68:819–823
  12. Bjork-Eriksson T, West CM, Karlsson E, et al. The in vitro radiosensitivity of human head and neck cancers. Br J Cancer. 1998;77:2371–2375
  13. Peacock J, Ashton A, Bliss J, et al. Cellular radiosensitivity and complication risk after curative radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol. 2000;55:173–178
  14. Begg AC, Steel GG. Cell proliferation and growth rate of tumours. In:  Steel GG editors. Basic clinical radiobiology. 3rd edn. London: Arnold; 2002;p. 8–22
  15. Blankenberg FG, Teplitz RL, Ellis W, et al. The influence of volumetric tumor doubling time, DNA ploidy, and histologic grade on the survival of patients with intracranial astrocytomas. Am J Neuroradiol. 1995;16:1001–1012
  16. Tsuboi K, Yoshii Y, Nakagawa K, Maki Y. Regrowth patterns of supratentorial gliomas: estimation from computed tomographic scans. Neurosurgery. 1986;19:946–951
  17. Walker MD, Strike TA, Sheline GE. An analysis of dose–effect relationship in the radiotherapy of malignant gliomas. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1979;5:1725–1731
  18. Jena R, Price SJ, Baker C, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging: possible implications for radiotherapy treatment planning of patients with high-grade glioma. Clin Oncol 2005;17:581–590.
  19. Taghian A, Ramsay J, Allalunis-Turner J, et al. Intrinsic radiation sensitivity may not be the major determinant of the poor clinical outcome of glioblastoma multiforme. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1993;25:243–249
  20. Deacon J, Peckham MJ, Steel GG. The radioresponsiveness of human tumours and the initial slope of the cell survival curve. [review] Radiother Oncol. 1984;2:317–323
  21. Thomlinson RH, Gray LH. The histological structure of some human lung cancers and the possible implications for radiotherapy. Br J Cancer. 1955;9:539–549
  22. Bleehen NM, Stenning SP. A Medical Research Council trial of two radiotherapy doses in the treatment of grades 3 and 4 astrocytoma. The Medical Research Council Brain Tumour Working Party. Br J Cancer. 1991;64:769–774
  23. Stuschke M, Budach V, Budach W, Feldmann HJ, Sack H. Radioresponsiveness, sublethal damage repair and stem cell rate in spheroids from three human tumor lines: comparison with xenograft data. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1992;24:119–126
  24. Stuschke M, Budach V, Kalff RL, et al. Spheroid control of malignant glioma cell lines after fractionated irradiation: relation to the surviving fractions at 2Gy and colony forming efficiencies in a soft agar clonogenic assay. Radiother Oncol. 1993;27:245–251
  25. Budach W, Gioioso D, Taghian A, Stuschke M, Suit HD. Repopulation capacity during fractionated irradiation of squamous cell carcinomas and glioblastomas in vitro. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;39:743–750
  26. Taghian A, Suit H, Pardo F, et al. In vitro intrinsic radiation sensitivity of glioblastoma multiforme. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1992;23:55–62
  27. Ramsay J, Ward R, Bleehen NM. Radiosensitivity testing of human malignant gliomas. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1992;24:675–680
  28. Taghian A, DuBois W, Budach W, Baumann M, Freeman J, Suit H. In vivo radiation sensitivity of glioblastoma multiforme. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1995;32:99–104
  29. Steel GG, Wheldon TE. The radiation biology of paediatric tumours. In:  Plowman PN,  Pinkerton CR editor. Paediatric oncology: clinical practice and controversies. London: Chapman and Hall; 1992;
  30. Rampling R, Cruickshank G, Lewis AD, Fitzsimmons SA, Workman P. Direct measurement of pO2 distribution and bioreductive enzymes in human malignant brain tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1994;29:427–431
  31. Hall EJ. Radiobiology for the radiologist. 3rd edn. Philadelphia: Lippincott; 1988;
  32. Richards MA, Westcombe AM, Love SB, Littlejohns P, Ramirez AJ. Influence of delay on survival in patients with breast cancer: a systematic review. Lancet. 1999;353:1119–1126
  33. Mackillop WJ, Bates JH, O'Sullivan B, Withers HR. The effect of delay in treatment on local control by radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1996;34:243–250
  34. Price SJ, Pena A, Burnet NG, et al. Tissue signature characterisation of diffusion tensor abnormalities in cerebral gliomas. Eur Radiol. 2004;14:1909–1917
  35. Suit H. The Gray Lecture 2001: coming technical advances in radiation oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2002;53:798–809
  36. Horiot JC, Le Fur R, N'Guyen T, et al. Hyperfractionation versus conventional fractionation in oropharyngeal carcinoma: final analysis of a randomized trial of the EORTC cooperative group of radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol. 1992;25:231–241
  37. Jena R, Burnet NG, Price SJ, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging: application of a novel imaging technique for radiotherapy treatment planning of patients with high grade glioma. Radiother Oncol. 2004;73(suppl 1):S40
  38. Swanson KR, Alvord EC, Murray JD. Virtual brain tumours (gliomas) enhance the reality of medical imaging and highlight inadequacies of current therapy. Br J Cancer. 2002;86:14–18
  39. Chaplain MA. Mathematical modelling of angiogenesis. J Neurooncol. 2000;50:37–51
  40. Byrne HM, Chaplain MA. Mathematical models for tumour angiogenesis: numerical simulations and nonlinear wave solutions. Bull Math Biol. 1995;57:461–486
  41. Levine HA, Sleeman BD, Nilsen-Hamilton M. Mathematical modeling of the onset of capillary formation initiating angiogenesis. J Math Biol. 2001;42:195–238
  42. Alarcon T, Byrne HM, Maini PK. A cellular automaton model for tumour growth in inhomogeneous environment. J Theor Biol. 2003;225:257–274
  43. Kirkby NF, Burnet NG, Faraday DBF. Mathematical modelling of the response of tumour cells to radiotherapy. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res B. 2002;188:210–215
  44. Kirkby NF, Faraday DBF, Short SC, Wookcock M, Joiner MC, Burnet NG. Mathematical modelling to develop a novel radiotherapy schedule for high grade brain tumours based on phase distribution of low-dose hypersensitivity in human glioma cell lines. Radiother Oncol. 2002;64(suppl 1):S57

PII: S0936-6555(05)00423-1

doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2005.08.017

Clinical Oncology
Volume 18, Issue 2 , Pages 93-103 , March 2006

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution