Rapid Interval Recurrence of Glioblastoma Following Gross Total Resection: A Possible Indication for GammaTileⓇ Brachytherapy

GammaTile® (GT) as a brachytherapy platform for rapidly proliferating glioblastomas: from case series to clinical trials

PURPOSE

Radiation plays a central role in glioblastoma treatment. Logistics related to coordinating clinic visits, radiation planning, and surgical recovery necessitate delay in radiation delivery from the time of diagnosis. Unimpeded tumor growth occurs during this period, and is associated with poor clinical outcome. Here we provide a pilot experience of GammaTile ® (GT), a collagen tile-embedded Cesium-131 (131Cs) brachytherapy platform for such aggressive tumors.

METHODS

We prospectively followed seven consecutive patients (2019-2023) with newly diagnosed (n = 3) or recurrent (n = 4) isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type glioblastoma that grew > 100% in volume during the 30 days between the time of initial diagnosis/surgery and the radiation planning MRI. These patients underwent re-resection followed by GT placement.

RESULTS

There were no surgical complications. One patient developed right hemiparesis prior to re-resection/GT placement and was discharged to rehabilitation, all others were discharged home-with a median hospital stay of 2 days (range: 1-5 days). There was no 30-day mortality and one 30-day readmission (hydrocephalus, requiring ventriculoperitoneal shunting (14%)). With a median follow-up of 347 days (11.6 months), median progression free survival of ≥ 320 days (10.6 months) was achieved for both newly and recurrent glioblastoma patients. The median overall survival (mOS) was 304 and 347 days (10 and 11.5 mo) for recurrent and newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our pilot experience suggests that GT offers favorable local control and safety profile for patients afflicted with rapidly proliferating glioblastomas and lay the foundation for future clinical trial design.

GammaTile: Comprehensive Review of a Novel Radioactive Intraoperative Seed-Loading Device for the Treatment of Brain Tumors

GammaTile is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed device consisting of four cesium-131 (Cs-131) radiation-emitting seeds in the collagen tile about the postage stamp size. The tiles are utilized to line the brain cavity immediately after tumor resection. GammaTile therapy is a surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) that helps provide instant, dose-intense treatment after the completion of resection. The objective of this study is to explore the safety and efficacy of GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy for brain tumors. This study also reviews the differences between GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) and other traditional treatment options for brain tumors. The electronic database searches utilized in this study include PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. A total of 4,150 articles were identified based on the search strategy. Out of these articles, 900 articles were retrieved. A total of 650 articles were excluded for various reasons, thus retrieving 250 citations. We applied the exclusion and inclusion criteria to these retrieved articles by screening their full text and excluding 180 articles. Therefore, 70 citations were retrieved and included in this comprehensive literature review, as outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) diagram. Based on the findings of this study, GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) is safe and effective for treating brain tumors. Similarly, the findings have also shown that the efficacy of GammaTile therapy can be enhanced by combining it with other standard-of-care treatment options/external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Also, the results show that patients diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) exhibit poor median overall survival because of the possibility of the tumor returning. Therefore, combining STaRT with other standard-of-care treatment options/EBRT can improve the patient's overall survival (OS). GammaTile therapy enhances access to care, guarantees 100% compliance, and eliminates patients' need to travel regularly to hospitals for radiation treatments. Its implementation requires collaboration from various specialties, such as radiation oncology, medical physics, and neurosurgery.

The role of cesium-131 brachytherapy in brain tumors: a scoping review of the literature and ongoing clinical trials

PURPOSE

Cesium-131 radioactive isotope has favored the resurgence of intracavitary brachytherapy in neuro-oncology, minimizing radiation-induced complications and maximizing logistical and clinical outcomes. We reviewed the literature on cesium-131 brachytherapy for brain tumors.

METHODS

PubMed, Web-of-Science, Scopus, Clinicaltrial.gov, and Cochrane were searched following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to include published studies and ongoing trials reporting cesium-131 brachytherapy for brain tumors.

RESULTS

We included 27 published studies comprising 279 patients with 293 lesions, and 3 ongoing trials. Most patients had brain metastases (63.1%), followed by high-grade gliomas (23.3%), of WHO Grade III (15.2%) and Grade IV (84.8%), and meningiomas (13.6%), mostly of WHO Grade II (62.8%) and Grade III (27.9%). Most brain metastases were newly diagnosed (72.3%), while most gliomas and meningiomas were recurrent (95.4% and 88.4%). Patients underwent gross-total (91.1%) or subtotal (8.9%) resection, with median postoperative cavity size of 3.5 cm (range 1-5.8 cm). A median of 20, 28, and 16 seeds were implanted in gliomas, meningiomas, and brain metastases, with median seed activity of 3.8 mCi (range 2.4-5 mCi). Median follow-up was 16.2 months (range 0.6-72 months). 1-year freedom from progression rates were local 94% (range 57-100%), regional 85.1% (range 55.6-93.8%), and distant 53.5% (range 26.3-67.4%). Post-treatment radiation necrosis, seizure, and surgical wound infection occurred in 3.4%, 4.7%, and 4.3% patients.

CONCLUSION

Initial data suggest that cesium-131 brachytherapy is safe and effective in primary or metastatic malignant brain tumors. Ongoing trials are evaluating long-term locoregional tumor control and future studies should analyze its role in multimodal systemic tumor management.