Retrospective study of Oncothermia combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of Glioblastoma. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness analysis

Retrospective study of Oncothermia combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of Glioblastoma. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness analysis

Dr. Roussakow`s Team, Department Galenic Research Institute, Moscow, Russia, recently published in the Biomedical Journal Open (BMJ Open, 2017 Nov 3; 7 (11)) the results on the complementary use of Oncothermia in Glioblastoma multiform.

Researchers compared the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of Oncothermia (electrohyperthermia mEHT) with chemotherapy (temozolomide, ddTMZ) versus chemotherapy alone in a patient with recurrent Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

This is a retrospective study of a population of 54 patients diagnosed with recurrent Glioblastoma multiforme treated with chemotherapy and Oncothermia (ddTMZ + mEHT) during the period 2000-2005. The comparison was made with a population of 114 patients, diagnosed with GBM, treated with chemotherapy alone (ddTMZ) during the period 2008-2013.

Results:

The treatment effect analysis (ETA) suggests that Oncothermia significantly improves the survival of patients receiving oral chemotherapy (ddTMZ). Economic evaluation suggests that ddTMZ+Oncothermia is cost-effective, budget-saving and profitable. It is derived from the results that Oncothermia can be recommended for the treatment of recurrent Glioblastoma multiforme. Oncothermia can even be assessed as monotherapy as a rescue treatment when chemotherapy fails.