Dr. Kumthekar Discusses Frontline Therapy for Anaplastic Astrocytoma

Priya U. Kumthekar, MD, assistant professor of neurology and medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses frontline therapy for patients with anaplastic astrocytoma.

The standard frontline treatment of this patient population is a controversial topic, Kumthekar says. This is the subject of the ongoing CATNON study, which is evaluating the use of radiotherapy with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide (Temodar) in patients with non—co-deleted anaplastic glioma. Many physicians have varying opinions on the best approach in this setting, but frontline treatment typically consists of radiation with or without chemotherapy.

Often, physicians have extrapolated data from grade IV glioma, utilizing the regimen of combination chemotherapy and radiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. So, if patients with anaplastic astrocytoma receive this regimen in the frontline setting, there is no true standard of care upon relapse, Kumthekar concludes.